Kenneth Lance Hamrick

ENG -112 – Issue Report KLH

March 24, 2019

Proposed & Current Laws on Cyberbullying

In 2010, the issue of cyberbullying within our nation was brought from out of the

darkness into the light. Numerous teenage suicides related to some type of bullying had

uncovered the issues that persist around our country. Many of the “future leaders of tomorrow”

were getting berated and picked on not only within the confines of education facilities but at their

homes and through a much more vicious medium than the usual face to face encounters. The

United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan disseminated a letter to important leaders in

each state discussing Cyberbullying laws and policies. This document was in response to the

states and local officials request for guidance on cyberbullying laws (U.S. Education Secreatary

Highlights Best Practices of Bullying Policies). Duncan stated in this document “we have all

been told that bullying has been going on in our schools forever. But we can stop it now,”

“Strong anti-bullying policies instill a climate that this behavior will not be tolerated.” (U.S.

Education Secreatary Highlights Best Practices of Bullying Policies). What these two statements

signaled to the recipients was that everyone is or should be aware that bullying, of all contexts, is

an issue with grave consequences and the adoption of strong policies and laws working together

is the one of the most effective ways to combat this social problem.

History of Cyberbullying

To understand laws and legislations on cyberbullying it is important to first understand

how cyberbullying emerged in our society. Bullying is not a new concept that has just recently
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been introduced into the U.S. culture. At some point or another in life either, on a playground, a

school gymnasium or educational hallways, a bullying event has probably been witnessed. From

the middle twenty century until today, bullying on the playground or within the confines of

school grounds has been a part of the everyday norm. What is new, within the technological age

that we live in today, is cyberbullying.

The definition of “What is Cyberbullying” can be complex but simple in some ways. On

the official United States government sponsored website, stopbullying.gov, Cyberbullying is

defined as “bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and

tablets.” (What is Cyberbullying). Cyberbullying occurs through many different forms of

communication that are relatively new to our culture. Texting, online social media, forums,

specialized messaging apps, and even gamming consoles are all digital platforms that can be

used to conduct cyberbullying (What is Cyberbullying). Teenagers and even prepubescent teens

have access to these forms of communication every day. With access such as this in our society

cyber-crimes are inevitable, unfortunately bullying was not ignored from the cyber-world.

People living in society today have resources of communication around the globe, at the

tip of their fingers, and nestled within front pockets in the form of a smartphone, or household

computer. With these, highly effective forms of communication, the responsibilities of what is

right or wrong can be casted to the side by many. The generations that are entering school or

have been in school for some time, feel like they can post or communicate whatever, too

whomever, more freely than if they were in person with those same individuals and without any

consequences. Technology along with world communication via the internet and the many

components that allow us to express our feelings and emotions whenever, to whomever, and

about whatever, gave birth to this new form of bullying.

Legislations (The good, The enough, & The bad)

Citizens throughout the nation are coming to terms with the face that bullying has taken a

more advanced approach in society with the inception of cyberbullying, State and federal

lawmakers are tasked each year with the job of writing efficient and effective legislation that

does not infringe on constitutional rights such as “freedom of speech”. The first legislation,

concerning cyberbullying appeared in the early twenty-first century, as smartphones and the

availability of internet access became more prevalent within cultures around the world. The

startup of social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and others propelled the acts of

Cyberbullying into an epidemic quickly. With the rapidly growing communicational

advancements, many states rushed to put in place laws concerning Cyberbullying. In the same

memo referenced above from the U.S. Department of Education, key components of existing

anti-bullying laws from 29 states were referenced to assist in enacting future legislation. (U.S.

Education Secreatary Highlights Best Practices of Bullying Policies).

In most cases, states categorize “Cyberbullying” underneath Anti-Bullying Laws or

“Cyber Crimes”. New Jersey for instance, enacted one of the nation’s most comprehensive Anti-

Bullying legislations with their “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act” in 2011 (Strom, Wingate and

F.). This game changing legislation included mandatory reporting for schools which took away

discretion from administrated personal (Strom, Wingate and F.). This legislation was in direct

response from a Cyberbullying case that lead to a suicide at Rutgers University. The medium that

was used in this incident was Twitter and the harassment included a homosexual relationship

being disseminated throughout the university. Unfortunately, a young adult’s life was what

catapulted legislation such as this to be passed.

In contrast, other states have passed legislation on cyberbullying only to later discover,

through judicial review, that such laws infringed on First Amendment rights to freedom of

speech. North Carolina experienced such flaws from their cyberbullying legislation in 2016. The

North Carolina Supreme Court held that its “content-based restrictions on speech was not

narrowly tailored enough to serve the legitimate interest of protecting minors from online

bullying.” (McGuire). In general, the legislation on cyberbullying in North Carolina was

determined to be broad and not inclusive in protecting victims and the statue was found to be

unconstitutional. This ruling caused North Carolina lawmakers to go back to the drawing board

for a more comprehensive law on cyberbullying.

Other Factors

Other factors will also always be present when deliberating cyberbullying laws. One such

factor is “sexting” and dissemination of child pornography by minors. North Carolina laws make

it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to send or receive sexually explicit photos with a cell

phone.” (O'Connor, Drouin and Yergens). Gone are the days of sneaking into your grandfather or

father’s “magazine collection” to take a peak of adult material. The material in question is

supplied though the internet now and without parental guards in place, they can be accessed from

any lay computer person. Furthermore, young adults are creating their own explicate material

between themselves and sending them over the open internet. Does this act from juveniles

constitute as an act of cyberbullying? Many lawmakers and advocates say that punishments such

as North Carolina’s laws for incident such as this are wrong and unnecessary. What is needed is

the education of cyberbullying consequences for these young adults. What happens to those

confidential images or videos when the send button has been pushed is when crimes of
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cyberbullying occur, and the focus should be steered toward stopping these acts before they

occur.

Conclusion

Although, states legislations on cyberbullying have progressed greatly in the past 15

years, it is important for lawmakers to keep in touch with shifting landscapes and new areas of

concerns that arise every year. The world of technology shows no signs of slowing down in the

near and distant further. Future discussions on direction of laws for this topic will be required,

throughout the country and the world, before this epidemic can be corralled.
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Works Cited

McGuire, N. "Preserving the "Jewel of Their Souls":How North Carolina's Common Law Could

Save Cyber-Bullying Statutes." Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy 13

(2018): 57-83. web. 23 March 2019.

<https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1163&context-

djclpp_sidebar>.

O'Connor, K., et al. "Sexting legislation in the United States and Abroad: A call for uniformity."

International Journal of Cyber Criminology (2017): 218-245. web.

<http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1037397>.

Strom, P. S.: Strom, R. D., et al. "Cyberbullying: Assessment of student experience for

continuous improvement planning." National Association of Secondary School

Principals.NASSP Bulletin (2012): 137-153. web.

<https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/10199

58954?accountid=10163>.

"U.S. Education Secreatary Highlights Best Practices of Bullying Policies." Washington:

Federal Information & News Dispatch, INC (2010). web.

<https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/81831

6085?accountid=10163>.

What is Cyberbullying. 26 July 2018. Web. 23 March 2019.

<https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html>.