Business Law

Please read "E-commerce & Cyberlaw – They Will Be Bullies: Mean Girls in Cyberspace" of your textbook. Then answer the following questions (include your thoughts). Why would the judge not find a criminal violation? Is it a crime to bully over the Internet? Are there any other criminal statutes or crimes covered in the text that are applicable to Lori Drew's actions? Do you think Ms. Drew should have also been charged with the death of Megan Meier rather than with conspiracy, unauthorized computer access, and three lesser charges? Why or why not? Given the amount of mean-spirited content that is constantly posted to social networking sites, should these sites – as well as legislation – go further to protect their users against cyber bullying, or should users assume more of the responsibility in protecting both themselves and their children? Why or why not? 

E-COMMERCE&CYBERLAW

They Were Bullies: Mean Girls in Cyberspace

On May 14, 2008, a federal grand jury indicted Lori Drew, 49,of Missouri, the first of what would become known as thecyber bully. Ms. Drew had created a MySpace site for JoshEvans, a fictitious teen boy she used as a means of gettinginformation from Megan Meier, a 13-year-old girl with whomMs. Drew’s daughter had had a falling-out. Josh pretended tobe interested in Megan, but then said that she was“fat”andthat the world would be a better place without her. Meganhanged herself within an hour of receiving the final com-ments from“Josh.”Ms. Drew was later charged and con-victed of conspiracy and accessing computers withoutauthorization.*Since the time of that case, there have been a number ofsimilar incidents in which friends, parents, and others harassindividuals using the various sites available from Facebook toInstagram. States now have very specific cyberbullying sta-tutes for prosecution. As one expert phrased it, we have totake responsibility for what we post online and the conse-quences that can stem from hurtful or fearsome comments.There are both civil and criminal statutes that provide curbsfor victims. Civil remedies allow for injunctions, and criminalpenalties are at a level that allows them to serve as a deter-rent for the types of postings that began with the Drew case.

*U.S. v. Lori Drew, 259 F.R.D. 449 (C.D. Cal. 2009).