H.R.1966 Title: To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying. Sponsor: Rep Sanchez, Linda T. [CA-39] (introduced 4/2/2009) Cosponsors (17) Latest Major Action: 4/2/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
SUMMARY AS OF: 4/2/2009--Introduced.
Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act - Amends the federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties on anyone who transmits in interstate or foreign commerce a communication intended to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior.
They also are going to pass a bill to put child molesters in protective custody!
ReplyDeleteIf someone rapes your child and you go beat the crap out of them you can be charged with a hate crime in another bill? This is all an outrage. I wasn't sure until now but I'm damn glad I voted for McCain.
9:59 Do you have "breaking news" that the legislation to which refer is going to pass? The last I heard, which was last night, this piece of legislation is still being bantered back and forth, and the assertion to include child molesters in this legislation that deals with federal hate crimes was facitious at best by a politician making a point during a debate. Now get a grip and get real.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with this bill. This child was led to suicide becuase of someone who should have known better.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been nice if you provided a little background on the incident that prompted the legislation.
ReplyDeleteMegan Taylor Meier was a teenager from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri who committed suicide at the age of 13 years. Her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through the social networking website MySpace. The account through which the bullying took place purportedly belonged to a 16-year-old male named "Josh Evans." However, Lori Drew, the mother of a former friend of Meier, later admitted creating the MySpace account with her daughter and Ashley Grills, Lori Drew's 18 year old employee. Several people contributed to running the faked account, including Drew.
Witnesses testified that the women intended to use Meier’s e-mails with "Josh" to get information about her and later humiliate her, in retribution for her allegedly spreading gossip about Drew's daughter.
As some have suggested, your approach to free speech may, one day, result in someone you harass and humiliate hunting you down to kick your ass or worse. That's a risk I suppose you're willing to take for all this "fame and glory" you think you're getting running this blog. But when so-called grown ups use the Internet and free speech to publically and falsely attack, humiliate, harass, threaten and embarrass a child unable to defend themself, then it becomes a different matter.
A person isn't allowed to use the phone lines (telephone misuse) or the mail system to anonymously perpetrate these cowardly acts, why should the Internet - a relatively modern invention - receive a free pass? This law, if passed, will simply bring the Internet in line with what were, besides face-to-face, the only available means of communicating available at the time.
There is a lot wrong with this bill. Imagine if Barrie had been able to claim Joe had caused her emotional distress and his repeated hostility. Joe could be in a federal pen. right now. The language of this bill is very vague and not really subject to measure, just a claim. Further the bill would make it a federal felony. Go read the bill and take note of this text in it..
ReplyDelete"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....
["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; ...
["Electronic means"] means any equipment dependent on electrical power to access an information service, including email, instant messaging, blogs, websites, telephones, and text messages."
Yeah there is a lot wrong with the bill indeed.
10:51 The following is the Maryland statute regarding phone misuse: 3-804. Misuse of telephone facilities and equipment. It a statute that has been on the books for years and is successfully prosecuted daily.
ReplyDeleteProhibited
(a) A person may not use telephone facilities or equipment to make:
(1) an anonymous call that is reasonably expected to annoy, abuse, torment, harass, or embarrass another;
(2) repeated calls with the intent to annoy, abuse, torment, harass, or embarrass another; or
(3) a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal that is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent.
Penalty
(b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $500 or both.
Like I wrote, it's time to get the Internet up to speed with the older communications technology.
Ok so your familiar with Maryland code, There is similar federal code regarding email, internet and telephone use already in place. What is bad about this bill is the over reaching language. Define Emotional distress for me? There is no legal definition for emotional distress. For example:
ReplyDeleteYour teenage son or daughter has dated two or three friends, each time a relationship ends your teenager updates their MySpace or Facebook profile, oh and their blog, and they text their friends saying "my most recent ex is a jerk and is dumb" now since they have done this two or three times there is established and documented repeated behavior, finally they refuse a date with another peer, they update the facebook page with "i'd never go out with him/her, he/she is ugly". Him/Her commits suicide and leaves a note saying that suicide was due in part to the rejection. Your teenager is now facing felony charges from the federal government. You still think it is a good law?
12:29 Provide me with a definitive definition on annoy, abuse, torment, harass, or embarrass. What may annoy, abuse, torment, harass, or embarrass you may not have the same affect on another.
ReplyDeleteEmotional distress is an increasingly popular basis for a claim of damages in lawsuits for injury due to the negligence or intentional acts of another. Originally damages for emotional distress were only awardable in conjunction with damages for actual physical harm. Recently courts in many states, including New York and California, have recognized a right to an award of money damages for emotional distress without physical injury or contact. In sexual harassment claims, emotional distress can be the major, or even only, harmful result. So emotional distress already has a basis and apparently is definable in the courts.
As with any law, the trier of fact, the judge, will decide, based on the totality of the evidence, whether the state/government has met its burden of proof. Just as judges do when they make a ruling on whether a defendant "annoyed, abused, tormented, harassed, or embarrassed another" using the telephone per the Maryland statute.
Kinda of like that famous question, "Define Sex?"
ReplyDeleteThe only person in America that didn't know what sex is is Bill Clinton.
ReplyDeleteJust another vehicle for hundreds of frivolous lawsuits that will keep the lawyers rich and clog up the courts so that real criminals can get off.
ReplyDelete10:19am what i posted at 9:59am are two separate bills and not in the bill on this post.
ReplyDeletei heard that on the news, doesn't mean it's true. if it is I can say i'm glad i voted for mccain, i wan't sure until now if the news media was correct.