You may have heard about the sad news of Phoebe Prince's suicide. Prince was the victim of bullying and apparently decided to end her life after a particularly difficult day. Several of her schoolmates now stand charged of various crimes that could send them to jail.
While cyber bullying played a part in the way some students treated Prince, it appears that the bullies relied more on old-fashioned physical and verbal bullying. Even so, the mere mention of cyber bullying brings up the debate over what, if anything, the government should do to protect citizens against being harassed online.
In the United States, there's no federal law against cyber bullying -- yet. A bill introduced to the House of Representatives last year would make it against the law to "transmit 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." Anyone found guilty of this crime could face a fine or a prison term of up to two years.
The bill has generated controversy among several civil rights groups who point out that the vague language could lead to violations of First Amendment rights. During House subcommittee hearings, several politicians and free-speech activists argued against creating a federal law that not only could infringe free speech but also create a burden for the federal government. Another view was that cyber bullying is just an extension of classic bullying and that it should be handled on the local level. The bill and a few similar proposed pieces of legislation are still in committee and may never become federal law.
Several states have signed cyber bullying bills into law. States like Maryland, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky and others have tried to define cyber bullying in a way that allows law enforcement officials to charge bullies with specific crimes. These laws also raise concerns with free speech advocates. So while cyber bullying isn't illegal on the federal level in the United States, it is illegal within specific states.
Personally, I think most legislative approaches to curbing cyber bullying are a waste of time and money. Worse than that, I don't think they actually curb cyber bullying activities. The Web makes it very easy to harass someone anonymously. Even people who would normally be victims due to their appearance, size or social status in a group can become bullies on the Internet. Anonymity and distance can inspire people to say and do things online they would never do in person. I'm fairly sure that laws against cyber bullying won't change that.
Another reason I don't like cyber bullying legislation is that it's reactionary rather than preventive. The laws might give officials the chance to charge bullies under a specific law, but at that point, the damage has been done. These laws won't prevent the next bullied teen from deciding to commit suicide or bring back the people who have already chosen to end their lives as a result of bullying. In my mind, we should be concentrating on the cause of bullying rather than how to punish bullies.
What I think needs to happen is to encourage more involvement at the local level. Parents need to mentor their children. Compassion isn't something you can legislate. Only by changing behaviors can we hope to really curb cyber bullying. Threatening kids with punishment isn't going to be enough.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto/Thinkstock
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