cyberbullying prosecution

pharmaton

http://www.thejournal.ie/cyber-bullying-ireland-1162881-Nov2013/

After being on the receiving end of some in the past myself I'm greatly in favour of seeing people prosecuted for online behaviour.
I've little knowledge of the process of drafting and implementing legislation and I could see that there would be challenges involved but I feel that there must be some solution to the situation as it currently stands.
Given the growth of social media over the past number of years and the cases of suicide related to cyber bullying, is it time that some legislation was drawn up to protect people from harassment and abuse online? How would you go about it.

Pushtrak

pharmaton wrote: »

How would you go about it.

I wouldn't. Jail time or a fine for this is ridiculous.

pharmaton

Pushtrak wrote: »

I wouldn't. Jail time or a fine for this is ridiculous.

even where it leads to suicide of the abused?

StinkyMunkey

Pushtrak wrote: »

I wouldn't. Jail time or a fine for this is ridiculous.

Wrong, it sends a clear and direct message that this type of behaviour is unacceptable.

SweepTheLeg

The Internet is srs business.

pharmaton

I've been thinking about it over the last couple of days and realise that it sort of fits in with the area I'm studying at the minute and I feel like it's something I want to become more involved with, I'm just not even sure how to start the process.

clairefontaine

I suppose its easier to create legislation for offenders than it is for a parent to convince a teenager to walk away from a screen?

To block people?

To ignore people?

BNMC

Pushtrak wrote: »

I wouldn't. Jail time or a fine for this is ridiculous.

You're right. Jail time and a fine would be more appropriate.

Hownowcow

pharmaton wrote: »

I've been thinking about it over the last couple of days and realise that it sort of fits in with the area I'm studying at the minute and I feel like it's something I want to become more involved with, I'm just not even sure how to start the process.

This is a pretty reasonable synopsis of the process.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government_in_ireland/national_government/houses_of_the_oireachtas/legislation.html

happyviolet

clairefontaine wrote: »

I suppose its easier to create legislation for offenders than it is for a parent to convince a teenager to walk away from a screen?

To block people?

To ignore people?

I get where your are coming from but that would not work. I deactivated my facebook for a month, and when I came back I discovered that someone made a fake profile about me, and I found out it was up for a month the exact time my real profile was temporarily gone. It freaks me out to think what this weirdo was saying to people online while pretending to be me.

That's the problem, even if you are not online that much, if you got bullies like I did, they can still say sh*t about you online, and make up horrid rumours, and it is damaging since stuff online stays there forever and could affect future career choices and meeting new people.

Creating a legislation is the only way to get across to these people that they cannot get away with this anymore.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

Current legislation should cover most forms of bullying whether it be in real life or online. It is a problem that needs to be tackled though and if current legislation isn't enough then more needs to be drafted. I'm all for online privacy and your right to post what you want within reason without fear of the state or the law but if you cross a specific line like being threatening and constantly abusive towards an individual then this needs to be tackled in a big way.

The Americans, going from memory, jailed a few of the people that were responsible for the Phoebe Prince suicide and I'm sure it's made many potential online bullies think twice before deciding to do so, which is great.

If there's a need for new legislation I would like it aimed more towards the protection of people under the age of 18 as that seems to be the area where most tragedies emanate from. We need to have a clear distinction between a gang of teenagers harassing a young girl in her bedroom through Facebook and a gang of people annoyed with Enda Kenny over the property tax, we need to make a clear difference in how both are treated.

pharmaton

Hownowcow wrote: »

This is a pretty reasonable synopsis of the process.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government_in_ireland/national_government/houses_of_the_oireachtas/legislation.html

thanks, my reading cut out for the night. I think there's a fair bit of research needing to be done first though and that's the part I'm interested in.

Vision of Disorder

clairefontaine wrote: »

I suppose its easier to create legislation for offenders than it is for a parent to convince a teenager to walk away from a screen?

To block people?

To ignore people?

Yeah those victims are terrible people alright... :rolleyes:

I've never been a victim of online abuse but I'm quite taken aback at the tone of some of the posts here, it's not too far removed from the whole "she deserved it because she was drunk/dressed a certain way" mentality that still rears an ugly head from time to time.

It is wrong to bully people, be that in the real world or online. It's mean spirited, cowardly behavior that needs to be stamped down upon and while I'm not suggesting the death penalty for every internet troll in the country people SHOULD be held culpable for the manner in which they conduct themselves (again, both in real life and online). It is a perfectly reasonable expectation that society will impose sanctions upon people who set out to create misery in the lives of others.

And while it's not really the core of your point it IS far easier to create legislation to punish offenders than to create a situation where every parent in the country will magically gain the ability to control their teenagers (it's notoriously difficult to get the average teenager onside with most of what their parents want for them).

clairefontaine

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

Current legislation should cover most forms of bullying whether it be in real life or online. It is a problem that needs to be tackled though and if current legislation isn't enough then more needs to be drafted. I'm all for online privacy and your right to post what you want within reason without fear of the state or the law but if you cross a specific line like being threatening and constantly abusive towards an individual then this needs to be tackled in a big way.

The Americans, going from memory, jailed a few of the people that were responsible for the Phoebe Prince suicide and I'm sure it's made many potential online bullies think twice before deciding to do so, which is great.

If there's a need for new legislation I would like it aimed more towards the protection of people under the age of 18 as that seems to be the area where most tragedies emanate from. We need to have a clear distinction between a gang of teenagers harassing a young girl in her bedroom through Facebook and a gang of people annoyed with Enda Kenny over the property tax, we need to make a clear difference in how both are treated.

The problem with American legislation is they want to make parents responsible while at the same time Facebook loosening up its restrictions for teens. So what do you do as a parent?

Hownowcow

pharmaton wrote: »

thanks, my reading cut out for the night. I think there's a fair bit of research needing to be done first though and that's the part I'm interested in.

Drafting legislation is not a simple process and can take a considerable amount of time before it even makes it to the Houses of the Oireachtas. To see the level of detail required you might wish to take a look at some of the modern acts in the Irish Statute Book on the Office of the Attorney General's website.

pharmaton

Hownowcow wrote: »

Drafting legislation is not a simple process and can take a considerable amount of time before it even makes it to the Houses of the Oireachtas. To see the level of detail required you might wish to take a look at some of the modern acts in the Irish Statute Book on the Office of the Attorney General's website.

I just contacted a friend who works in a university to see if she can help point me in the right direction. I realise legislating is a long drawn out process, that's why I feel it's a good time to start getting the footwork done. I'm not an IT specialist but I have a decent understanding of human behavior and have worked and studied in that area in the past so I'd hope I could apply it in a practical way in a research capacity. (which is sort of the area I'm driving at the minute) Obviously feedback from people is good too.

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

clairefontaine wrote: »

The problem with American legislation is they want to make parents responsible while at the same time Facebook loosening up its restrictions for teens. So what do you do as a parent?

Do they really want to make parents responsible for what their 16 year old 'child' does? That'd be absolute madness.

My parents couldn't 'control' me from the age of 13, it'd be so sad if they were responsible for anything I did as an 'under-age' adult. I was no bully but I did plenty of mental shit that I won't post here.

I think a teenager, especially a young teenager is less responsible for what they do than an adult but I believe if one is constantly abusing, ganging up on and threatening a single individual for no other reason other than being a bully then they should feel the full force of the law on top of them and there should be custodial sentences handed out to send a clear message that this type of behaviour is beyond unacceptable and literally causes needless death.