Cyber bullying: always Half a step ahead of the law

But, is it okay for a victim of online bullying to do nothing and just ignore it? Is it really no big deal? And are Netizens really free to abuse and threaten each other without fear of the consequences?
The answer is no.
In fact, cyber bullying – or online harassment – is illegal.
So why do people resort to cyber bullying in the first place? First of all, the Internet allows anonymity, so users feel less responsible for their actions. This encourages a climate of easy criticism and insult. According to research done in 2008, young people usually dismiss cyber bullying as merely “starting a fight” or simply “drama”. The law on Internet harassment has little meaning for most youths – both victims and harassers.
However, with the use of social media increasing, online harassment can be rapidly and widely spread, making a huge impact on the victim.
Far more important, the online actions can spill into real-life scenarios if the persecution is strong enough. In some cases, cyber bullying produces real and severe consequences for both victims and harassers.
 Internationally, legislative approaches to deal with cyber bullying have taken two forms. The first came to prominence in the US where a specific piece of legislation was enacted in response to the failure of existing law in the case of Megan Meier, a 13-year-old schoolgirl who committed suicide after being bullied online.
What made this case special was that her persecutor was an adult who disguised her identity. Lori Drew, who was once a friend of the Meier family, used social networking site Myspace to pose as a boy named Josh and “teach” Megan a lesson for spreading rumours about her daughter. “Josh” pretended to befriend Megan but then broke up the Internet relationship with the words “The world would be a better place without you”. Megan subsequently committed suicide.
Americans followed the situation closely but were shocked when Drew was charged merely with violations of Myspace’s terms of use.
In reaction, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act was presented to Congress. However, the Act’s passage through Congress has been blocked over fears that it would limit civilians’ rights and freedoms. Issues raised by critics include ambiguity about the concept and definition of cyber bullying, possible violation of freedom of speech, and how the law could be easily abused.
The alternative approach to cyber bullying skirts these criticisms by coordinating existing laws rather than passing new ones. European countries and Australia, for example, use a variety of legislation covering data protection, privacy, online defamation, etc, to penalise actions that result from cyber bullying. Together with legislation, these countries fund awareness campaigns to prevent Internet harassment while at the same time offering help to its victims.
Realising that such legislation is available, Internet users might take a less tolerant view of bullying and seek to defend their rights.
But questions still linger: is the existing law helping?
Unfortunately, both these approaches might not be that effective since most existing laws were designed at a time when the Internet was still in its infancy. Both approaches obviously have deficiencies. The debate on the definition and scope of cyber bullying is still active, and this fact hinders the ability to present new legislation. Meanwhile, existing laws are often ill-equipped to deal with the situation. However, choices need to be made, otherwise cyber bullying and its results will become accepted as a normal phenomenon.
How can we stop cyber bullying in our society? It’s simple. Before your next click, be sure that you are not one of the online harassers.

Pawita Kakhai, Department of Law, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University.