Um, Paging All Those Silicon Valley Libertarians...

Ok, I've been cyber-bullied and I think this is scary:

"Legislators are newly arming themselves with laws that will protect kids from being repeatedly harassed via the Internet, text messages, or other electronic devices. In recent weeks, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) proposed    a federal law that would criminalize acts of so-called cyberbullying (PDF). And Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt was scheduled Friday to sign into state law a similar measure, but the event was postponed because of inclement weather in St. Louis.

Both state and federal laws were prompted by the suicide of Missouri 13-year-old Megan Meier, who was the victim of repeated harassment on MySpace.com. An adult neighbor was indicted in the case last month by a grand jury in Los Angeles not on charges of cyberbullying, but on charges of unauthorized access of a computer system with intent to harm another person. (Missouri litigators said they didn't have a law to prosecute the case at the time.)"

OK, my legal knowledge is limited to the reruns of Law & Order that provided great white noise while I was writing my book last year, but couldn't cases like this be covered under manslaughter or some such? Harassment/stalking or battery laws don't stipulate "offline only" right?

If enacted, this starts a new slippery slope of legislation that could endanger free speech (ahem, I hate when people call me the c-word, but doesn't mean they are felons) and crimp the Web's innovation.

I'm not saying there aren't risks here, but maybe better parenting, enforcing current laws and more responsible use of sites is the answer? This smacks of feel good press announcements for legislators or back room lobbying from someone. Reminds me of the time True.com tried to legislate mandatory background checks for online dating. Guess what site provided such a service? Or the time Ticketmaster worked to make secondary ticket sales illegal.

What's more: It's a pretty lose definition. (Again, per CNET)

 

"In general, the conversation among these groups is moving from a focus solely on sexual predators to the everyday harm that kids can inflict on each other in chat rooms, social networks, virtual worlds, or via text message. Researchers say that anywhere from 40 percent to 85 percent of kids have been exposed to some kind of digital bullying, whether it's a stolen password or being called "fat" via instant message.

 

Even in adult-monitored virtual worlds for kids, children have been known to get around dictionary controls by naming a virtual room after a peer that he or she wants to ridicule, e.g., "Mary is fat." And while calling someone "fat" is not a crime, parents and legislators are trying to prevent the behavior before it leads to tragedies like Meier's.

 

"It used to be that adults would pooh-pooh bullying as a phase, but we're seeing increasing violent actions resulting from it," Sanchez said in an interview.

 

"The problem with cyberbullying is that kids aren't even safe in their own home, because they're being harassed through the computer or cell phones 24/7 potentially," she said."

 

Does this remind anyone else of the whole "self esteem" movement of the 1990s? The one that researchers have recently said yielded a wave of entitled, maladjusted 20-somethings into the work force? We all experience bullying. Does anyone out there feel they weren't ultimately richer for the experience? And it's never necessarily stopped at the home. There are phones. There are bullying siblings and bullying friends of siblings. They outlawed too? Quick: Ban reruns of The Wonder Years! I had three older brothers and distinctly remember an incident of being dangled over a running washing machine. Terrifying at the time, but certainly pales next to "bullying" I've gotten professionally. Hope none of the kids want to be reporters, because if you're getting nothing but hugs you're probably not doing your job.

Next stop: The land of no responsibility with free super hot McDonalds coffee for everyone!