With the advent of each new technological trend or breakthrough, law makers must try to appropriately regulate the usage of that technology based on its impact on both the cyber and real worlds. Nothing has brought to the light the complications in litigation keeping up with technology more than the rise of "Cyberbullying," a crime that is plaguing schools and law enforcement across the United States.
Social Networking Sites and Bullying
Parent's concerns over their child's social lives tend to focus primarily on the drama that arises from the relationships with other students. When those relationships seem to become harassing in a way that detracts from a student's feeling of safety, parents are expected to bring up the issue with school officials to deal with their child's antagonist. This is their right and, some would say, their responsibility as parents.
Instead, many parents are relying increasingly on law enforcement to solve these types of problems; particularly when they lead over into cyberspace. In response to this, the National Crime Prevention Council has recently began to release commercials aimed at convincing youths to use more discretion while accessing the online social networking sites used in the act of "cyberbullying."
While many networks such as MySpace or Facebook provide privacy settings that can allow parents or the child to prevent such problems, it has done little to curb cyberbullying from remaining a relevant issue for school officials.
Infringement of Free Speech or Good Discipline?
A recent lawsuit by a University of Florida freshman reported by the New York Times shows a troubling side to the issue of disciplining alleged acts of online bullying: infringement on the freedom of speech. The suit, which aims only to correct the student's disciplinary record as well as cover legal fees, claims that the female student was suspended unfairly for posting a rant against a teacher on an online site. Her rant was posted in response to the teacher's alleged failure to assist the student and deleted a couple days later after the girl had calmed.
The issue raised is whether or not the school is infringing on the student's freedom of speech in an over-reaction to adolescent frustration. While school officials say that the student's comments are on par with verbal threats against the teacher's safety, others wonder how criticism can be considered the same as a threat of physical violence.
For some, the new focus on cyberbullying is a needed crackdown to help make student's feel more secure in the most vulnerable years of their social lives. For others, cyberbullying is an unnecessary reaction to problems that can be solved through mediation instead of disciplinary or criminal procedure. Until law enforcement officials and attorneys have constructed concrete policies on dealing with the new trend, there is little to suggest the issues will be resolved in the near future.
