OT: We Are All Now Criminals Under The Law

[MrToxin]

Mindi said:
I can understand the slippery slope theory, but I really think it's because of the circumstances surrounding what this woman did to a 13 year old girl, who eventually hung herself because of it, is the only reason they are going after her. This is one area where the law needs to catch up with technology and since it hasn't yet, they had to find a law they could charge her under. If it wasn't on the computer what she did would be considered stalking, harrassment and child enticement.

Stalking, harassment, child enticement, yes...but, if you look at it, nobody really "causes" a suicide. Suicidal people are, in a lot of ways, ticking time bombs. If you don't defuse them, they eventually blow up.

While we're talking "everybody's a criminal," did you ever accept cash from somebody and not report it? Yup, the IRS wants to know about it anyway, even if it was a $10 bill. Ever bought something off of a friend and didn't report it? Guess what? Same thing.

[Azselendor]

That's the issue at hand, she caused a suicide which in itself is only a crime committed by the person committing suicide. However, the mental anguish and criminality of the acts leading up to that end event are the actual crimes.

Providing a false name to a subsidiary of News Corp, imo, doesn't make a crime. Now if it's to local/state/federal authorities, then yes. In fact, cyberbulling itself would already be covered under existing laws dealing with mail and wire crimes.

[Mindi]

MrToxin said:

Stalking, harassment, child enticement, yes...but, if you look at it, nobody really "causes" a suicide. Suicidal people are, in a lot of ways, ticking time bombs. If you don't defuse them, they eventually blow up.

While I agree with you that the only person who can "cause" a suicide is the person who takes their own life, an adult should know better than to torture and play with the emotions and mental state of a 13 year old girl. That's such a horrible age to be going through where everything seems magnified and you're going through all sorts of emotions for the first time that you don't really know how to handle. Everything that happens to you at that age seems like the end of the world.

I also think that our current laws should be enforced and should cover these issues..but the local law enforcement there swore there was nothing they had on their books that they could charge her with and have stick. I think they said part of the problem comes down to jurisdiction because technically the crime is wherever the server is located and not where the people are located. So then it is a multi-state issue....which got the feds involved....which leads to what can they charge her with on a federal level...etc.

[Atrocities]

I would have charged her with conspiracy to commit murder. The intent was to get the girl to kill herself, and the women made comments to that effect over her communications on that despicable myspace network.

I also believe that myspace is tacitly responsible for allowing this kind of harrassment to go through their system unabated. If it is against their policy, then they are responsible for enforcing said policy.

As for this use of illegal access to a secure server crap, well that one will be for the Supreme Court to decided. I can almost guarantee you that that is where this issue will ultimately end up.

[MrToxin]

They can't read every message that goes through MySpace, Atrocities.

[Atrocities]

MrToxin said:
They can't read every message that goes through MySpace, Atrocities.

No of course not, but they can however run each message through a filtering program that is set up to detect key words and phrases. If the US Government can do it looking for terrorist activity, then I am sure MySpace can too. And besides, you all hate FOX News, and they are both owned by the same parent company so I would suspect that being sued would come as a welcome happenstance to you all.

[Atrocities]

Saying myspace is responsible for the messages sent by its users is like saying that since a rock fell from space and hit my car the FAA/Norad/Airforce/Nasa is responsible for repairs.

Well if the FAA/Norad/Airforce/Nasa are responsible for putting that rock into space in the first place then ya, they are responsible for it when it comes back home to roost.

Your analogy is, while valid, is kinda misleading. If your going to compare holding myspace responsible for the abuse it uses can levy against each other then you should compare it to people suing the fast food industry for making them fat. Didn't work out to well the first go around, but then again when it was tobacco being sued it took years before those bastards had to pay up. Give it time, some slimy trial lawyer who has gotten fat off of ripping people off while managing their loved ones estates will figure out how to beat the system and win a huge judgment against Myspace or other similar site over something like this.

[Xrati]

Maybe we should outlaw the internet. There, another useless thing for the politicians to do! That would be their answer, the "EASY WAY OUT" instead of actually addressing the problem.

AT, if they read every message, there would some liberal group crying foul about privacy. Again, soooooo much concern about privacy and NONE about lives!

[Azselendor]

Saying myspace is responsible for the messages sent by its users is like saying that since a rock fell from space and hit my car the FAA/Norad/Airforce/Nasa is responsible for repairs.

It just ends up leading to frivolous lawsuits.

And enforcement would end up bankrupting many sites on the net or leading to the closure of public communities on the web.

Conspiracy to commit murder wouldn't stick since the target committed suicide. You might be able to play with assisted suicide laws. But in reality, it's the method used to obtain the effect that is illegal.

Cyberbullying easily falls into Hazing laws.

[Renegade 13]

MrToxin said:
Stalking, harassment, child enticement, yes...but, if you look at it, nobody really "causes" a suicide. Suicidal people are, in a lot of ways, ticking time bombs. If you don't defuse them, they eventually blow up.

I'm sorry, but this is incorrect. If someone is feeling somewhat suicidal, but not enough to go through with any form of self-harm, then along comes this person who probably meant a lot to this girl (even if 'he' shouldn't have), insinuates 'himself' into her life, then intentionally crushes her, intending to inflict as much emotional pain as possible upon her, then yes, that can "cause" her to commit suicide where she might not have otherwise.

In my opinion, this was murder, premeditated murder. She knew exactly what sort of torture she was inflicting on this child, and while it wouldn't cause everyone to kill themselves over it, it was a foreseeable consequence, and this ***** should be locked away for the rest of her life.