Cyberbullying emerges as a new threat

ST. LOUIS — The public's frustration over the inability to punish those accused of using a phony identity to send hurtful messages to a teenager who later killed herself has pushed policy makers into action. But, some experts are already questioning whether the new laws will work in an electronic medium that is evolving daily.

Since the story of 13-year-old Megan Meier's suicide became public last month, at least two local cities have made Internet harassment a crime. Megan's hometown of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., was first. Then Florissant, Mo., followed up with its own ordinance.

"Somebody has got to do something," said Dardenne Prairie Mayor Pam Fogarty. "This is uncharted territory. Well, somebody's got to put the chart down."

In coming weeks, St. Louis, St. Louis County, St. Charles, O'Fallon, Mo., and St. Charles County are expected to consider similar measures targeting online harassment.

But, those measures are weak and "100 percent symbolic," said St. Louis attorney J. Bradley Young, an Internet and computer law expert.

"People are jumping on the bandwagon because it's good politically," Young said. "But I do see the Dardenne Prairie and the Florissant ordinances as instigators for state, and perhaps federal legislation."

State lawmakers have promised to introduce legislation designed to protect the people who communicate over the Web and punish those who abuse it.

Meanwhile, St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas, who decided to review the case after Megan's story gained widespread public attention, is expected to announce his findings Monday.

Legal experts warn against an emotionally-driven response to Megan's death. Regulating rapidly-evolving technology is difficult, they say, and targeting communication over the Internet is especially troublesome.

"Harassment runs squarely into First Amendment rights, particularly over the Internet," Young said. "Where does free speech end and where does harassment begin? That is an ill-defined concept."

The rush to pass new laws on behalf of Megan could backfire because of the challenges of establishing jurisdiction in a global technological landscape, as well as tracking the source of evidence and balancing regulations with protecting constitutional rights.

Raymond Schroeder, director of the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning at the University of Illinois at Springfield, says a major challenge is enforcing cyberlaws because cruel messages may come not from down the block, but from across the globe.

"The problem is real and it's devastating," Schroeder said. "It's possible to besmirch someone's name to possibly hundreds or thousands of their peers."

Missouri's harassment law addresses written and telephone communication but does not specifically mention the Internet. The state's stalking statute, however, outlaws making a "credible threat" that causes one to "reasonably fear" for his or her safety. The law says that threat can be made "in writing, including electronic communications, by telephone, or by the posting of a site or message that is accessible via computer."

Sandy Davidson, who teaches communications law at the University of Missouri at Columbia, says state laws should be specific enough to give notice as to what is and is not legal, but are not always clear.

Washington University law professor Neil Richards said any new state laws addressing Internet harassment must strike a balance between clearly defining harassment and protecting free speech.

"We should be sure not to move too rashly and to let the truly horrible facts of this (the Megan Meier) case cloud our judgment," Richards said. "We don't want to have an exaggerated response that robs our ability to act freely involving freedom of speech."

The absence of Internet-specific language on the state's law books has given rise to promises for the introduction of new bills in the next legislative session. State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, said he plans to pre-file a bill this month, realizing that such a state law would be effective only if it is narrow in scope.

In Megan's case, authorities have struggled to determine the extent to which an adult was involved in sending Megan deceptive messages and whether those messages actually caused Megan to kill herself.

Her parents, Ron and Tina Meier, went public last month claiming their daughter hanged herself Oct. 16, 2006, after receiving cruel messages from a fictitious MySpace account created by neighbors.

According to police, a neighbor, Lori Drew, said she had "instigated and monitored" the fake MySpace account because her daughter and Megan had been fighting and she wanted to see what Megan was saying online about her daughter.

Many state laws have threat requirements that fail to protect against harassing electronic communications, including e-mails, that do not carry explicit physical threats, said Pepperdine University law professor Naomi Goodno. She evaluated the effectiveness of state and federal cyberstalking laws in a September 2006 study.

Goodno said cyberlaws would be more effective if they focused on the effects of harassment or stalking rather than the actions of online perpetrators.

"If the Meier case can bring to light those deficiencies, maybe there is one good outcome of it," Goodno said.

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