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Do You Ever Read Websites' Terms of Use?
Lori Drew, the woman who made a fake MySpace profile to torment teenager Megan Meier, which led to the latter's suicide, is currently on trial for fraud. This was the only way to prosecute Drew for her involvement in Meier's suicide — accusing her of fraudulently creating a MySpace account.
However, it already looks like the case could be thrown out, because she has testified that she never read MySpace's terms of use, nor did she agree to them.
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Cyber-Bullying — Who's Responsible in Computer Tragedies?
This morning Good Morning America had an exclusive interview with Ashley Grills. If that name doesn't ring a bell, the story about the teenage girl who committed suicide after succumbing to a MySpace prank might. Grills, 19, admitted that she was part of the plan to create a fake persona on MySpace to start a fake online romance with a 13-year-old neighbor, Megan Meier.
Biggest Headlines of 2008: Lori Drew Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case
The Megan Meier MySpace case of 2008 was heartbreaking for the girl who was lost, and was also unique in that it challenged fairly new Internet conventions. When the 13-year-old Meier killed herself after being tormented by a group of people — chief among them, her friend's mother Lori Drew — enforcers were unsure that they'd be able to charge her with anything.
In May, Drew was indicted for her role, and finally, after claiming she never read MySpace's Terms of Use and could not be held accountable for them, last month she was found guilty of three misdemeanor counts — minor counts compared to the greater felony charge.
Social Networking Sites Make Teenage Girls Anxious and Depressed
I can't say I spend a ton of time on social networking sites (I know, go figure, right?), but I can only imagine how many hours teenagers spend on their Facebook and MySpace pages. Well researchers from Stony Brook University have come to the conclusion that teenage girls who like chatting with their friends about their problems (through IM, email, SMS, and social networking sites), are more prone to anxiety and depression.
After examining 83 13-year-old girls, the researchers noticed that the girls became more depressed when they constantly rehashed negative emotional experiences over and over.
British Kids Think It's Funny to Impersonate Pedophiles Online
Oh, the evolving humor of today's youth: Youngsters have apparently taken to freaking out their friends and classmates by pretending to be online predators! Nine cases in Cornwall were investigated where police suspected that pedophiles on social networking sites like Bebo and MSN were actually fellow classmates of kids who weren't getting along — all around age 10.
This is really par for the course in a time when we're seeing and questioning online bullying — though these cases weren't taken as far as the Megan Meier case or the Kristin Helms case, can we really be surprised that these young kids see new possibilities to tease and torture each other with the Internet?
Should Websites Be Liable For Discrimination?
A federal appeals court recently ruled that Craigslist would not be held liable for discriminatory ads posted on its site. The lawsuit was brought forth over two years ago, because of housing ads that discriminated against minorities and religion. Though Craigslist was cleared last week as not being responsible, this is another case we've seen lately where a website that has hosted something incendiary or illegal, and we've been forced to question who's to blame.
Family Sues MySpace For Their Role in Teen's Suicide
When 15-year-old Kristin Helms committed suicide in 2006, she blamed Kiley Bowers, the 27-year-old man who traveled across state lines to meet her. Her parents blame MySpace — in fact, they're suing the Internet site for their role in the tragedy.
Though Helms and Bowers didn't meet on MySpace, they did use it to communicate, and Helms's parents called for the policing of sites for sexual predators last Summer.
Have You Ever Created a Fake MySpace Profile?
In the aftermath of the suicide of Megan Meier, the 13-year-old Missouri girl who was taunted by a fake MySpace profile named "Josh Evans," there was technically no way to charge her tormentor — the mother of a schoolmate — with any wrongdoing. However, a US attorney in Los Angeles (the home of MySpace) has begun issuing subpoenas in the case in the hopes of charging Lori Drew, the creator of the fake profile, with fraud.
While this case is tragic and highly charged, this precedent could be pretty intense because I know many people have created fake MySpace accounts as harmless jokes, myself included.
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