Does the prosecution of cyber bullying infringe on civil liberties?
This is an interesting question to think about. With the increasing incidents of cyber bullying that are leading to suicide, it is something that lawmakers really need to discuss. One of the most public trials that started this debate was with Michelle Carter who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter of her boyfriend. Carter was on the phone with her boyfriend, Roy who had second thoughts about going through with his planned suicide. Carter told Roy to get back into the car and stayed on the phone and listed to him die and did not do anything about it. Carter’s attorneys filed an appeal stating that the prosecution of the text messages and online conversations that were used as evidence in the trial, violated Carters freedom of speech. Many civil liberties organizations, such as the ACLU came out in support of Carter and her appeal.
This is all very hard to understand for me. On the one hand, I think that anyone who does not try to intervene when someone is hurting themselves, even if it is intentional, should be held responsible. On the other hand, courts have for the majority of time considered suicide to be an act of free will. I also think that when lawmakers are creating policy surrounding bullying, that the question of – was bullying ultimately what lead to a person committing suicide? Then, that would mean that bullying should be an offensible action and we need to create uniform policy that holds people who engage in bullying accountable. To my knowledge, there is no such policy in place at this time, except for some schools adopting a zero-tolerance policy.
Moving forward, I personally think that there should be clear policy on the consequences of bullying, and I do think that someone should be held accountable for involuntary manslaughter for cyber bullying. Bullying is a social problem, not a technical one and we need to address it and start discussing the really tough questions such as where civil liberties and accountability fit in?
Cramer, M. The Globe. In Michelle Carter appeal, high court considers whether encouraging suicide amounts to manslaughter. October 2018.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/10/04/state-highest-court-hear-appeal-michelle-carter-case-today/jkjaR4SzLuHMr86MvIR6ZJ/story.html
Defamation whether slander or libel is not protected by freedom of speech. I completely agree that there needs to be a clear policy on the consequences of bullying and cyberbullying alike. In addition to a clear policy there needs to be clear definitions as to what bullying and/or cyberbullying is. As like many things the definition is currently open to interpretation and relative to perspective, which is dangerous for free speech and victims of intense cyberbullying. What can be termed cyberbullying is in some cases stalking, harassment, criminally threatening, and sexual invasions of privacy which are all prosecutable offenses. Although it is a tricky situation to navigate in regards to civil rights, as many instances of cyberbullying occur with minors as the victims and often the perpetrators, the main concern should be protecting the well-being of minors.
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/08/19/the-war-against-online-trolls/free-speech-does-not-protect-cyberharassment
Whenever I think of cyberbullying, I always think on that Michelle Carter case. It was such a fascinating discussion point on how far cyberbullying can go to the point of possible prosecution. This was also a unique case in the way that Michelle continued to insist that her friend kill himself, even after he told her he didn’t want to. Most cyberbullying cases seem to be less purposefully deliberate, and it makes it very difficult to decide if there is a spectrum for what can or cannot be punishable by law. I do think that Michelle was rightfully held responsible for her doing, and I agree that clear consequences need to be established. With regular bullying in schools, there are clear and concise rules and punishments for them. Cyberbullying creates such ambiguity on how we can decide on these punishments. Is what we do or say online part of our freedom of speech? Or is there a line that gets crossed where what you say can have a huge impact to the person on the other end? I think we’re living in a world now that we need to start finding those lines and building a system around bullying online, and hopefully with a clear system, the rates will go down once the perpetrators finally understand the possible consequences of their actions. Thanks for the post!