Cyber-bullying

On October 7 2006 Megan Taylor Meier, a North-American teenager, committed suicide three weeks before her 14^th birthday. Her suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through the website MySpace, an SNS. The case has caused several discussions about legislation to prohibit harassment over the internet. In Missouri, where the tragedy took place, a law against cyber-bullying passed but many jurists and bloggers belief this law is not narrow enough (it does not define ‘severe bullying’) and therefore endangers the freedom of speech.

In Europe, most authorities are equally concerned about the prospect of cyber-bullying. In 2008, the EU declared to spend 55 million euros to protect children from online harassment. It is difficult to find information about prevention or legislation concerning this relatively new phenomenon in Belgium. According to a study of the University of Antwerp, Belgian minors who get caught cyber-bullying rarely suffer legal consequences and are in most cases dealt with by their school. In the Netherlands they are more ahead of us concerning this subject. There it is possible to report an online bully, who will receive a charge if there are two witnesses.

Since there is no clear legislation regarding cyber-bullying yet, Social Network Sites have a great responsibility. This counts especially for those who deal with children. To my opinion, they must do everything they can to prevent cases like Megan Taylor Meier, even if this means that the “freedom of speech” may be restricted.

Martijn