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MySpace Cyberbullying Bill Passes State Missouri House And Senate
12:17 PM EDT Mon. May. 19, 2008
"Social networking sites and technology have opened a new door for criminals and bullies to prey on their victims," Blunt said in a statement. "These protections ensure that our laws now have the protections and penalties needed to safeguard Missourians from Internet harassment."
The bill was prompted by the 2006 suicide of Megan Meier of O'Fallon, Mo. The 13-year-old killed herself after reportedly receiving taunting messages from 49-year-old Lori Drew, her daughter and another teenage girl. Drew allegedly created a hoax by creating a false MySpace account in which she pretended to be a 16-year-old boy, "Josh Evans."
Messages from "Evans" turned from romantic to bullying, ending with a final message from "Evans" telling Meier, "The world would be a better place without you." The rejected teen subsequently hung herself.
Under current state law, Missouri authorities were unable to charge Drew for cyber harassment. Last week, the case was brought to Los Angeles District Court, where MySpace-owned Fox Entertainment is headquartered.
In L.A., Drew was indicted on one count of conspiracy and three violations of the anti-hacking Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. She is scheduled to be arraigned in a Los Angeles District Court in June. If convicted, could serve as much as 20 years. Drew has denied any involvement.
The new Missouri cyberbullying bill, SB818, written by Sen. Scott Rupp, calls for harsher penalties and expanded provisions that furthers Missouri's stalking and harassment laws.
"We need to do all we can to protect our citizens from this kind of senseless activity by punishing those who engage in it," Rupp said in a statement. "This is a growing, national problem and by bolstering our current law, Missouri will be taking the lead in addressing it."
Currently, harassment is a Class A misdemeanor. Under the new bill, it would be a Class A misdemeanor unless committed by a person twenty-one years of age or older against a person seventeen years of age or younger; or the person has previously committed the crime of harassment. In such cases, harassment is a class D felony.
Under current state law, aggravated stalking is a Class D felony for a first offense and a Class C felony for a second offense committed within five years of the first offense. Under the new bill, aggravated stalking is Class D felony unless the person has previously committed a stalking offense, in which case, it is a Class C felony, regardless of when the first offense was committed.
Much of the new bill stems from the Internet Harassment Task Force that was created last year by Gov. Blunt.
"I applaud Senator Scott Rupp and lawmakers for enacting the recommendations that originated from that task force with input from law enforcement officers, child services advocates, Internet providers, bi-partisan legislators and Missourians who worked together to define valuable recommendations for our state," Blunt said in a statement.
