Issue no. 388 - 1 June 2008

• US 'cyber-bully' mother indicted (BBC)
  A Missouri woman who allegedly used a fake MySpace profile to bully a girl who later committed suicide has been indicted by a federal Grand Jury. Lori Drew, 49, allegedly posed as a boy on the website to befriend Megan Meier, 13, who hanged herself after he broke off the virtual relationship. Ms Drew denies creating the profile on the social networking website and sending messages to Meier. Lori Drew Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case. The indictment (.pdf) alleges that Drew and her co-conspirators violated MySpace's terms of service, which require registrants to provide truthful registration information and refrain from soliciting personal information from anyone under 18 or using information obtained from MySpace services to harass or harm other people, among other terms. See also Experts Say MySpace Suicide Indictment Sets 'Scary' Legal Precedent (Wired). Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are resorting to a novel and dangerous interpretation of a decades-old computer crime law - potentially making a felon out of anybody who violates the terms of service of any website.

Issue no. 387 - 12 May 2008

• US - Lovestruck MySpace teen not guilty of harassment, court says (Iconoclast blog)
  by Declan McCullagh. NeW York State prosecutors decided to charge Isaiah Rodriguez, 18, of aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child over a series of MySpace.com messages professing his ardent devotion to a 14-year-old girl. Fortunately, the New York City criminal court thought otherwise. In a ruling on April 4, Judge Michael Gerstein in Brooklyn hels that while the actions of a love-struck teenager may well be foolish, reckless, or otherwise acts which might not be expected from a mature adult, they are not, without more, elevated to crimes.

• US - Schoolyard Face-Offs Blamed on Facebook Taunts (Washington Post)
  Teens are conducting an increasing share of their social lives electronically, via text-messaging, e-mail and social networking sites such as Facebook. Threats, harassment and bullying have followed them online. Although such behavior is not new, research suggests that it is expanding rapidly, and educators and lawmakers seem resolved to pay closer attention to the words students exchange online while off campus.

Issue no. 385 - 21 March 2008

• UK - Teachers warn over cyber bullying (BBC)
  Teachers are warning parents they need to be more aware about the potential misuse of the internet and mobile phones by their children. A survey of Association of Teachers and Lecturers members says more than half know of pupils being "cyber bullied" and 16% have been victims themselves. Union leaders said schools should use the available sanctions, such as confiscating phones, more consistently.

Issue no. 384 - 24 February 2008

• DE - Lehrerbenotungen im Internet: 3:0 für Spickmich (Heise)
  Das Landgericht Köln hat im Rechtsstreit zwischen einer Gymnasiallehrerin und dem Schülerportal "Spickmich" erneut gegen die Lehrerin entschieden. Diese will gerichtlich erzwingen, dass ihre persönlichen Daten und Bewertungen gelöscht werden. Bei "Spickmich" können Schüler Bewertungen über ihre Lehrer in Kategorien wie "cool und witzig", "faire Noten" oder "menschlich" abgeben. Die Gymnasiallehrerin, die zunächst lediglich die Note 4,3 erhalten hatte, sieht darin eine Verletzung ihrer Persönlichkeitsrechte und klagt auf Unterlassung. Das Gericht wies die Klage der Lehrerin jedoch als "unzulässig" ab. Das Grundrecht auf Meinungsfreiheit gelte zwar nicht unbeschränkt, sondern finde seine Grenzen bei reinen Schmähkritiken und Beleidigungen, doch davon könne bei "Spickmich" nicht die Rede sein. "Durch die Bewertungen sind nicht das Erscheinungsbild oder die allgemeine Persönlichkeit der Klägerin betroffen, sondern die konkrete Ausübung ihrer beruflichen Tätigkeit", argumentierten die Richter.

• FR - La Cnil et l'Education Nationale condamnent les pratiques de Note2be.com (ZDNet.fr)
  La pression monte contre le site « Note2be.com » ; créé fin janvier, il propose aux élèves de noter leurs enseignants, en les citant nommément, ainsi que le nom de l'établissement et la matière qu'ils enseignent. Le site fait l'objet d'une enquête officielle de la part de la Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, qui dit avoir été saisie de 17 plaintes et de plus de 160 signalements. La Cnil a « effectué en urgence un contrôle sur place, le mercredi 13 février », indique-t-elle dans un communiqué.

Issue no. 383 - 27 January 2008

• FR - Arrests for threat to Sarkozy son (BBC)
  Two men have been arrested in France over mobile phone death threats to the 10-year-old son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie confirmed a report by Le Point magazine that Louis Sarkozy had received several threatening phone calls.

• UK - Soaring number of teachers say they are 'cyberbully' victims (Times)
  Soaring numbers of teachers are calling helplines for advice on how to cope after being "cyberbullied" on the internet by their pupils. The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said that it now receives a call every day from teachers who say they have become victims. The problem was unheard of just two years ago. Pupils are scouring the internet looking for embarrassing photographs of them. They also use chatrooms and networking sites, such as Facebook or Bebo, to share incriminating material or make vicious accusations about their tutors.

Issue no. 381 - 8 December 2007

• Electronic Media, Violence, and Adolescents: An Emerging Public Health Problem (Journal of Adolescent Health)
  Adolescents' access to and use of new media technology (e.g., cell phone, personal data assistant, computer for Internet access) are on the rise, and this explosion of technology brings with it potential benefits and risks. Attention is growing about the risk of adolescents to become victims of aggression perpetrated by peers with new technology. In September 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a panel of experts in technology and youth aggression to examine this specific risk. This special issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health presents the data and recommendations for future directions discussed at the meeting. The articles in the Journal support the argument that electronic aggression is an emerging public health problem in need of additional prevalence and etiological research to support the development and evaluation of effective prevention programs.

• UK - YouTube tackles bullying online (BBC)
  The first online anti-bullying channel has been launched to encourage young people to denounce the intimidation. YouTube has set up a site where youngsters can post their own videos and messages. It follows growing concern about the increase in persecution by e-mail, mobile phone and on social networking sites, known as cyberbullying. The scheme is being launched at the start of anti-bullying week and is run jointly with charity Beatbullying.

• US - Web hoax led girl to kill herself (AP)
  Megan Meier thought she had made a new friend in cyberspace when a cute teenage boy named Josh contacted her on MySpace and began exchanging messages with her. Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel. The next day Megan committed suicide. Her family learned later that Josh never actually existed; he was created by members of a neighborhood family that included a former friend of Megan's. See also Cyberbullying Suicide Stokes the Internet Fury Machine (Wired).

Issue no. 380 - 30 September 2007

• UK - Fight cyberbullies, schools told (BBC)
  Schools are being given guidance urging them to take firm action against pupils who use mobile phones and the internet to bully other children and teachers. More than a third of 12 to 15-year-olds have faced some kind of cyberbullying, according to a government study. Ministers are also launching an awareness campaign on the social networking sites used by many pupils. Schools have been told they can confiscate mobile phones and how to get hurtful material pulled from websites. see Safe to Learn: embedding anti-bullying work in schools (Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Directgov cyberbullying campaign. Bullying.com (BBC Radio 4).

• UK - Putting a stop to the cyberbullies (BBC)
  Cyberbullying is becoming more and more of a problem for children, and schools and parents are finding it hard to cope.

Issue no. 378 - 5 August 2007

• UK - Teachers in websites closure call (BBC)
  Teachers have called for websites such as YouTube to be shut down as part of efforts to prevent pupils and staff being bullied. Delegates at the conference of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) said bullying can continue outside school and work hours. They said bullies can send abusive text messages or e-mails to victims.

Issue no. 377 - 5 July 2007

• UK - Warning over 'bullying by mobile' (BBC)
  One in five young people has been bullied by mobile phone or via the internet, a study suggests. Children's charity NCH surveyed 770 youngsters and found 14% of 11- to 19-year-olds had been threatened or harassed using text messages. Bullies had used images taken with mobile phone cameras to intimidate or embarrass one in 10 young people.

• US - Cyber-bullying gathers pace (BBC)
  One third of US online teenagers have been victims of cyber-bullying according to research by the Pew Internet Project. The most common complaint from teens was about private information being shared rather than direct threats. Girls were more likely than boys to be targets and teens who share their identities online are the most vulnerable, the survey found.

Issue no. 375 - 9 May 2007

• CA - Majority of Canadian teens in survey report being bullied online (CBC)
  Cyber-bullying is disturbingly common among Canadian teens, with a majority who responded to an online survey saying they have been bullied online, according to a report. The report, Cyber-bullying: Our Kids' New Reality, drew from nearly 2,500 responses to a survey conducted by Kids Help Phone between Dec. 20, 2006, and Jan. 20, 2007. Kids Help Phone and Bell Canada released the report in a handful of Canadian cities.

• Schoolgirls bullied into stripping online (MSNBC)
  Bullies are no longer content to taunt their victims in the playground but are turning to cyberspace, according to Canadian researchers. They are using e-mail, text messaging and social networking sites in new forms of victimization. Cyber bullies are even forcing their girlfriends to undress in front of webcams and then sharing the images with others online, said Professor Faye Mishna, of the University of Toronto, who has been researching the cyber abuse of children. Preliminary results from the research show so-called computer geeks are becoming the new schoolyard bullies. Final results of the study, which will be completed in June, are expected to be published in the autumn.

• UK - Cyber bullying threat to teachers (BBC)
  Teachers are calling for much tougher restrictions to protect staff from 'cyber bullying' by pupils. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers has warned of the distress caused to teachers by anonymous, malicious comments on websites. 'Offensive' comments and mocking video clips should not be allowed to undermine teachers' authority.

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