Trolling. You're banned for 2 years. From society, not the forums!

[ainwood]

Looks like there has been a proposal made for a law on cyber-bullying

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.1966:

Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act (Introduced in House)

HR 1966 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1966

To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 2, 2009

Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California (for herself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HARE, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. CLAY, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. COURTNEY, and Mr. KIRK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Four out of five of United States children aged 2 to 17 live in a home where either they or their parents access the Internet.

(2) Youth who create Internet content and use social networking sites are more likely to be targets of cyberbullying.

(3) Electronic communications provide anonymity to the perpetrator and the potential for widespread public distribution, potentially making them severely dangerous and cruel to youth.

(4) Online victimizations are associated with emotional distress and other psychological problems, including depression.

(5) Cyberbullying can cause psychological harm, including depression; negatively impact academic performance, safety, and the well-being of children in school; force children to change schools; and in some cases lead to extreme violent behavior, including murder and suicide.

(6) Sixty percent of mental health professionals who responded to the Survey of Internet Mental Health Issues report having treated at least one patient with a problematic Internet experience in the previous five years; 54 percent of these clients were 18 years of age or younger.

SEC. 3. CYBERBULLYING.

(a) In General- Chapter 41 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`Sec. 881. Cyberbullying

`(a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

`(b) As used in this section--

`(1) the term `communication' means the electronic transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received; and

`(2) the term `electronic means' means any equipment dependent on electrical power to access an information service, including email, instant messaging, blogs, websites, telephones, and text messages.'.

(b) Clerical Amendment- The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 41 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

`881. Cyberbullying.'.

 

[GenMarshall]

Everyone, don on your tinfoil hats .

On a serious note: This proposal came out way too late IMO, I've been harrassed in the past in a distant memory on the internets, mainly from one group of people.

 

[JollyRoger]

Just hope my CFC rap sheet doesn't get PM'ed to the local prosecutor.

 

[amadeus]

Another tool of government repression. Thanks, media outrage!

 

[Bill3000]

I have a god given right to troll, and no damned federal law will stop me.

 

[GenMarshall]

Just hope my CFC rap sheet doesn't get PM'ed to the local prosecutor.

Well, its just in the house floor. IIRC, they have not even voted on it yet.

Another tool of government repression. Thanks, media outrage!

Welcome to my world when they passed the Wiretapping thingy.

 

[ainwood]

If this were enacted, I wonder if website hosts would be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent such cyber-bullying, or else they could be considered negligent / an accomplice? I guess we better step-up our moderating!

 

[JollyRoger]

I'll just have the evidence excluded as PDMA.

 

[ainwood]

I have a god given right to troll, and no damned federal law will stop me.

As far as I can see, Thunderfall hasn't given you those rights at all.

 

[El_Machinae]

Doesn't this belong in Government Feedback ?

 

[JollyRoger]

If this were enacted, I wonder if website hosts would be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent such cyber-bullying, or else they could be considered negligent / an accomplice? I guess we better step-up our moderating!

Over moderating could be classified as cyber bullying.

 

[Fifty]

Finally us victims get a voice. Glad to see the government is willing to protect the vulnerable again.

I'll sleep more soundly tonight

 

[ainwood]

Over moderating could be classified as cyber bullying.

That's an interesting point. It isn't clear from this bill whether the onus is on the 'victim' to prove that they were hurt by the content, or on whether they had to prove that the perpetrator was specifically trying to upset them. For moderating, I would like to think that common sense would prevail, and that people would recognise that the motive is not to upset anyone, although some do complain about their 'rights' to free speech etc, and get upset when denied those rights (even when you agree when you sign-up to abide by the rules, which include that rights of free speech don't apply here).

 

[Fifty]

That's an interesting point. It isn't clear from this bill whether the onus is on the 'victim' to prove that they were hurt by the content, or on whether they had to prove that the perpetrator was specifically trying to upset them. For moderating, I would like to think that common sense would prevail, and that people would recognise that the motive is not to upset anyone, although some do complain about their 'rights' to free speech etc, and get upset when denied those rights (even when you agree when you sign-up to abide by the rules, which include that rights of free speech don't apply here).

The bolded part is true here, but it isn't in general. I know someone who was *very* bothered by a malicious ban from another forum!

 

[Bill3000]

As far as I can see, Thunderfall hasn't given you those rights at all.

Natural rights arn't granted by mere men.

 

[Firestorm94]

So the IRL mods are cracking down on trolls. Any news on what they're doing about those people spamming the end is near in big cities?

On a more serious note, it's ridiculous that people abuse their anonymity to hurt other people and even more ridiculous that it's getting so bad that they actually have to pass a law to stop them.

 

[Earthling]

There doesn't need to be ANY law that says anything major about cyber bullying. At the most it should just say that other crimes (harassment) committed over the Internet can be prosecuted. I'd be very annoyed if they try to define "cyber-bullying" as different from other things in real-life though. Basically, if it's the same as something like verbally harassing someone, constantly mailing them things, looking up their phone number and calling them, libel on the scale of newspaper distribution, etc... - real stalking or harassment then it should be treated the same.

 

[Sharwood]

If people can't handle getting cyber-bullied, then we shold be happy they killed themselves, thus removing a pathetic weakling from the gene-pool.
Moderator Action: Given that Megan Meier did do that, this is in extremely bad taste.

Consider very carefully what you post.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Bill3000]

There doesn't need to be ANY law that says anything major about cyber bullying. At the most it should just say that other crimes (harassment) committed over the Internet can be prosecuted. I'd be very annoyed if they try to define "cyber-bullying" as different from other things in real-life though. Basically, if it's the same as something like verbally harassing someone, constantly mailing them things, looking up their phone number and calling them, libel on the scale of newspaper distribution, etc... - real stalking or harassment then it should be treated the same.

Good luck enforcing it without violating privacy laws!

 

[Sharwood]

If people can't handle getting cyber-bullied, then we shold be happy they killed themselves, thus removing a pathetic weakling from the gene-pool.
Moderator Action: Given that Megan Meier did do that, this is in extremely bad taste.

Consider very carefully what you post.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

I'm well-aware of Megan Meier, as I am of people who killed themselves after being bullied at my school. If they can't handle a little bullying, or come up with a constructive way of ending it - here's an idea, if you're being teased on MySpace, stop going to MySpace - then they're obviously weak-minded. Unless they have some sort of medical disorder such as clinical depression, in which case their families should notice t and take them to a doctor.

Moderator Action: PDMA
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889