Note: death threats online always leaves a virtual paper trail.
Is freedom of speech becoming a luxury of the past? That may be the case, especially when used in a "cyber-bullying" verbal attack online. As seen with the suicide of Megan Meier stemming from comments made on MySpace, Internet harassment can be lethal, and now many countries are taking action against individuals harassing others online.
The latest cyber-bullying incident has now made 18-year-old Keeley Houghton the first person to be jailed in Britain due to bullying on a social networking site. According this article, Houghton actually posted a death threat in regards to Emily Moore on Facebook; Houghton had bullied Moore for four years at school prior to the virtual threat.
"Keeley is going to murder the bitch," Houghton wrote on her Facebook page. "She is an actress. What a ------- liberty. Emily ----head Moore."
According to Prosecutor Sara Stock, there was an altercation between the two teens before the Facebook posting. Apparently, Houghton approached Moore at a pub and asked for a "huggle" despite two previous convictions relating to her vendetta against Moore.
"I'll give you something to ring the police about," Houghton threatened when Moore refused the hug and threatened to call the police if Houghton didn't leave her alone.
Houghton pleaded guilty to harassment charges and now serves three months in a young offenders' institution. She was also banned from contacting Moore for five years.
...and your comment proves this. Not to slam you, just you may want to try reading that aloud, it's rather hard to follow.
Author of 'Skank' Blog to Sue Google for $15 M article I read on this one really starting-to-appear useless site...
And I think I'll make a similar comment.
Nothing ever makes sense anymore.
...and your comment proves this. Not to slam you, just you may want to try reading that aloud, it's rather hard to follow.
Nothing ever makes sense anymore. Is there something misleading about that? I don't see how there's any other meaning to derive from it.
also, to me this somewhat ties into what kids are listening to and watching these days. its pretty much a given that if somebody is listening to rap 24/7, and it talking about killing people all the time or drugs or sex, then the person becomes numb to it and it doesn't seem like a big deal to them anymore. and its the same way with movies....or even tv for that matter. if the govt. expects for kids to not say such things then they shouldnt be allowing them to be exposed to it as much as they are right now, and the amount of exposure is increasing too. its not so black and white.
The problem is that the two people actually do know each other and presumably where the other lives. The perp had two previous convictions. It's equivalent to sending threatening mail.
But I am extremely fed up with all these people wining about cyber bullying. All of us should be taught coping skills ans self esteem by our parents because in life you should not expect everyone to like you. This is especially true in middle or high school where kids can be vicious (and I had my share of bullying in middle school). Where the whole problem lies is many kids seem to have only virtual friends rather than good friends that they can meet with face to face and have a real and meaningful conversion and talk out issues they may have face to face. The fact that many of these kids are sitting behind a computer rather than facing the person means they are writing nastier things about others that they would probably never have the courage to say face to face. So between people with more fragile personalities and nastier children we should get used to more kids being depressed and some taking their lives. It is funny that many countries now want to legislate what can and cannot be written of forums\blogs and facebook\myspace account. My suggestion is: people get a life that involves something other than sitting in front of the computer engaging in virtual drinks and snowball fights...there is a lot more to life.
This is like writing on a letter that you intend to kill the person. Such letters are considered evidence in court, why should digitally written material be treated any differently?