WTF is Cyberbullying?

 What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is the use of the internet to harass, threaten or embarrass someone. Bullies typically do so by sending insulting or threatening texts and messages, spreading rumors about a person on their social media networks, such as Facebook, or controlling what they are able to do or say online.

Why should you care?




Because it can lead to suicide.

Want some examples from here and abroad?

The Cyber Express provides a few examples (a few too many):

· Megan Meier (1992–2006)

Three weeks before turning 14, American teen Megan Taylor Meier committed suicide by hanging herself. Her parents demanded an investigation, and it was determined that MySpace’s social networking site was the source of her cyberbullying. This case was an early warning sign of the ill-effects of social media.

· Phoebe Prince (1994–2010)

Following Phoebe Nora Mary Prince’s suicide on January 14, 2010, the Massachusetts state legislature passed more stringent anti-bullying legislation and charged six adolescents with crimes of violating civil rights.

· Amanda Todd (1996–2012)

Amanda Michelle Todd, a 15-year-old Canadian student who had been the target of cyberbullying, hanged herself to death due to continuous bullying and blackmailing by internet users.

· Rehtaeh Parsons (1995–2013)

Rehtaeh Parsons, 17, a former Cole Harbour District High School student, attempted suicide by hanging herself on April 4, 2013, at her house in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. The reason, targeted online harassment.

· Tyler Clementi (1991–2010)

On September 22, 2010, Tyler Clementi, an American student at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, died by suicide by jumping from the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River. Clementi was subject to cyberbullying by his doom room friends Ravi and Wei, who planted a webcam into his room.

· Jamey Rodemeyer (1997–2011)

Jamey Rodemeyer was a freshman at Williamsville North High School at the time of his passing and had previously attended Heim Middle School. He experienced terrible bullying as a result of being out about being gay.

· Sulli (1994–2019)

Police discovered Choi Jin-Ri, better known as Sulli of the K-pop girl group f(x), dead in her Seongnam home, prompting a closer examination of her career as a singer and a feminist who was frequently the target of vicious Internet trolls and online cyberbullying.

· Tyrone Unsworth (2003–2016)

In Brisbane, Australia, Tyrone Unsworth, an eighth-grader, committed suicide on November 22, 2016, as a result of years of homophobic abuse. On this particular day, his grandfather had intended for him to be at school, but he stayed at the farm instead. When his grandfather returned from work at around 1:00 p.m., he discovered Unsworth dead.

· Hana Kimura (1997-2020)

One of six cast members of the Terrace House reality series on Netflix, which previously broadcast on FujiTV and showed an eccentric group of strangers living together, died at 22.

Kimura’s pink hair, toned form, and energetic temperament helped her become known as a public figure in Japan and attracted a lot of criticism. Her death raised awareness of cyberbullying and the pressures women face to conform to social expectations.

· Kelly Fraser (1993-2019)

Kelly Fraser, a 26-year-old Canadian Inuk pop singer from Igloolik, Nunavut, was well-known for singing original songs and translating popular songs into Inuktitut. Fraser was discovered dead in her Winnipeg, Manitoba, home. Fraser’s family blamed “childhood traumas, racism, and continuous cyberbullying” for her death, which was later ruled a suicide.

Cyberbullying can include:

• Sending mean texts or IMs to someone.
• Pranking someone's cell phone. 
• Hacking into someone's gaming or social networking profile.
• Being rude or mean to someone in an online game.
• Spreading secrets or rumors about people online.
• Pretending to be someone else to spread hurtful messages online.
• Doxing.
• Catfishing. 
• Revenge Porn.
• Fraping.
• Impersonating.

Is Cyberbullying criminally actionable?

YES. Civilly and criminally.

Civil examples include: negligence, harassment, communicating threats, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and others.

Parents of kids harassing people and school districts can be liable as can employers of people acting with apparent or actual authority.