New Law Would Target Cyberbullying

Bullying has changed a bit from lunch money extortion. You may remember the story of a Missouri mom who posed as a teenage boy on MySpace back in 2006. The mom, Lori Drew, sent flirtatious messages to her neighbor, a 13-year-old girl named Megan Meier, and then dumped the girl in a tirade of cruel posts on her MySpace wall. Meier committed suicide the next day.

Well, Lori Drew is now the defendant in the country’s first cyberbullying case. Drew will be sentenced in Los Angeles on Monday. The case provoked shock, scorn, and recently, legislation.

In April, U.S. Representative Linda Sanchez filed the "Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act," which would make cyberbullying a felony. If the bill becomes law, conviced cyberbullies would face fines and up to two years of jail time. Here to help us better understand this proposed legislation is Justin Patchin. He’s assistant professor of criminal justice at University of Wisconsin-Eau Clair, and the co-founder of Cyberbullying.us.

NetworkWorld: Bill Would Turn Internet Flamers into Felons

Rep. Linda Sanchez: Protecting Victims, Preserving Freedoms

(Photo by J_O_I_D via Flickr/Creative Commons)