MySpace Bully's Case Sets Risky Course: Experts

'Meet kids where they live: online'

(NEWSER) - Schools that ban teachers and students from social media may think they're keeping classrooms safe from the harassment, bullying and exploitation of social networks, but actually they're missing a chance to harness the tremendous energy kids devote to social media, Nicholas Bramble writes on Slate . By bringing Facebook, MySpace and YouTube into the classroom, teachers can channel this energy toward schoolwork, Bramble says. More»

Social networking degrades friendship, can lead to suicide

(NEWSER) - Facebook and MySpace are degrading our ability to relate to one another and pushing young people to suicide, the head of the Catholic Church in England tells the Telegraph. Archbishop Vincent Nichols is concerned that social-networking websites encourage teens to form only “transient relationships,” which can leave them feeling hopeless when they dissipate. More»

(AP) - A Los Angeles federal judge has tentatively thrown out the convictions of a Missouri mother for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old neighbor girl who ended up committing suicide. US District Judge George Wu acquitted Lori Drew of misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization. Wu says his ruling will become final when he issues it in writing. More»

Probation is no deterrent: prosecutors

(NEWSER) - Federal prosecutors are pushing for the maximum 3-year prison sentence for Lori Drew, whose MySpace trickery drove a 13-year-old to kill herself. “Defendant has become the public face of cyberbullying,” prosecutors wrote. “A probationary sentence might embolden others.” But in a presentencing report, probation officers said Drew should serve no more than 6 months, Wired reports. More»

Drew convicted on lesser charges of using computer without authorization

(NEWSER) - A federal jury has rejected felony charges against cyberbully Lori Drew, convicting her instead of accessing a computer without authorization, a misdemeanor, the AP reports. The Missouri mom violated MySpace terms by creating a fake teen-boy profile to harass a neighborhood girl, but was found not guilty of using a computer to inflict emotional distress on 13-year-old Megan Meier, who committed suicide in 2006. More»