We are ALL going to jail for ambiguity....

[camper]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...speech-rights/

Cyberbullying Bill Could Ensnare Free Speech RightsCritics say the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act is too broad and would act as judge and jury to prove that one person "cyberbullied" another.
By Steven Kotler

Thursday, May 14, 2009


A bill introduced in the House of Representatives last month by Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., is designed to prevent cyberbullying, making it punishable by a fine and up to two years in prison.

But at least one blogger is calling the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act the "Censorship Act of 2009" -- and many free speech advocates say its language is too broad and that it would act as judge and jury to determine whether there is significant evidence to prove that one person "cyberbullied" another.

"We have existing harassment statutes in all 50 states that already cover this problem," says Parry Aftab, a lawyer and Internet security expert who's at the forefront of the anti-cyberbullying movement. "We don't need Linda Sanchez's law."

Even Sanchez's attempt to define the term "cyberbullying" poses problems, said UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh.

"The bill defines it as 'using electronic means to support severe, repeated and hostile behavior,' but what does 'severe, hostile and repeated behavior' mean?" he asked.

"I've written articles opposing the bill that have appeared online. That's electronic and -- because I've written a few of them -- repeated. I was also severe and hostile in my criticisms. Under her law, I can now go to jail."

And so could many political commentators and Web bloggers who earn their keep by being confrontational and inflammatory. A TV host like MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, who's been openly and repeatedly hostile to former Vice President Dick Cheney on his Web site, would not be safe from prosecution, the analysts say.
Even advocates of child safety on the Internet say the bill is impractical, at best.

"Even if you wanted to, you can't legislate against meanness," said Larry Magid, co-director of SafeKids.com. "It's contextual. If I call you fat, maybe I was bullying, or maybe I was concerned about your health, or maybe it was a relatively innocuous slight."

The bill's critics also note that the law is intended to protect minors from minors, but that doesn't show up in its language.

As written now, the bill would also apply to adults, says John Morris, general counsel for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology.

And, he said: "It's not clear from any of the data that cyberbullying among adults is an issue."

Morris said cyberbullying is a local problem best solved at the local level.

"Most research suggests cyberbullying is most appropriately handled with more education, in school. It's hard to imagine how federalizing the matter accomplishes this," he said.

The bill is named after Megan Meier, the Missouri 13-year-old who committed suicide in 2006 after a classmate's mother, Lori Drew, pretended to be a teenage boy and tormented her on the MySpace social-networking site.

Drew was convicted in November of three misdemeanors in federal court and awaits sentencing. She faces up to three years in prison.

But using Megan Meier as a proxy for the typical cyberbullying victim is a mistake, some experts say.

"Megan Meier had been taking psychotropic drugs," said Aftab, who founded WiredSafety.org and Wiredkids.org. "She was emotionally fragile."

"This was a rare case, an anomaly," agrees Justin Patchin, co-founder of Cyberbullying.us and associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. "Megan shouldn't be the basis of a new law."

Marsha Catron, communications director for Congresswoman Sanchez, argued otherwise.

"Megan is the right poster child for this. She was happy. She had plans for the future. Nothing suggested she was going to kill herself until Mrs. Drew created that fake MySpace page," Catron said.

The problem of cyberbullying clearly exists. A 2006 study in the journal Pediatrics reported that the incidence of cyberbullying among teens and pre-teens had increased by 50 percent in the previous five years, and 38 percent of those affected reported being "very or extremely upset or afraid because of the incident."

In an article defending her bill on the Huffington Post, Rep. Sanchez wrote that "a young person exposed to repeated, severe and hostile bullying online is at risk for depression and suicide."

She cited a U.S. Secret Service study that shows bullying puts kids at risk for becoming perpetrators of school violence, such as those behind the Columbine massacre, and said that her legislation would no longer let cyberbullies hide being the "emboldening anonymity of the Web."

Her spokeswoman, Catron, was even more emphatic.

"We need this law," Catron told FOXNews.com "Anyone who feels differently greatly underestimates the importance social networks play in teenage lives."

But even if the bill makes it through Congress, most of the experts interviewed for this article were uncertain it would hold up in court.

"Not only is Sanchez's bill unconstitutional," Volokh said, "but with our existing laws, criminal harassment (as opposed to sexual) is not a well defined term. Definitions vary from state to state, but generally it's threatening, persistent communication. There are no anti-mind-game-harassment laws out there."

I would say something, but I don't want to be fined or sent to jail out of fear that someone might find it hostile or mean-spirited.

camper

[Armed_in_Lancity]

so long freedom of speech ....... you can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hand.....

[knight0334]

pfffffft.. They can kiss my ass.

[Brick]

Here's the bill summary:

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.

Find it here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/.../~c111Liv6Nf::

Read the bill:

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 .'.

If you object to this be sure to let your Congresscritter know.

[ADerhammer]

People think that the 1A also means that they are protected from ever hearing something mean and hurtful to them. 1A gives you the right to express your views on anything. This could be very dangerous as it could be used to prosecute anyone saying anything bad about the "Great One".

[MuzzleFlash]

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.

That is all congress needed to find. The government is not our mommy, if the parent fails then the kid suffers. End of.

"It is better to tolerate that rare instance of a parent’s refusing to let his child be educated, than to shock the common feelings by a forcible transportation and education of the infant against the will of his father." - Thomas Jefferson

[TaePo]

My old man and the military taught me all I needed to know about the 2A, how to live it and defend it.

Kindergarden taught me all about the first amendment and how to defend against it's abuses...

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me."

[Spishack357]

Unbelievable, they would put me in a cell with a guy who raped a 5 year old because I "bullied" someone online...I would not go down without a fight I guarantee you that...

[camper]

People think that the 1A also means that they are protected from ever hearing something mean and hurtful to them.

Absolutely. People want the right to say whatever they want, but they don't want to hear what anyone else has to say. That's the fundamental problem.

Honestly, what these lawmakers don't see is that by trying to institute something like this--especially as broad as it is--makes people afraid to say something out of fear of being punished, ostricized, or singled out in some negative way. Essentially, they're bullying the public into acting in a way that they decide the public should act.

If the law gets posted online, they could be guilty of cyberbullying.

camper

[dc dalton]

Just more of the PC pussification of America!

The old 'my virgin ears' comes to mind ... what a freaking joke. This POS bill passes and we (and I mean everyone except the pussy ass, liberal psycho babble PC ASSHOLES) are completely fucked..

All I can say is kiss my skinny white ass you liberal assholes! You want to lock me for for talking you will get the same reaction you would get if you came to take my guns away.

This country is really starting to piss me off.