Anger Brews Over Cyber Suicide

(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»

Under fake persona, she teased girl who then killed herself

(NEWSER) - A Missouri woman has been indicted in the case of a teenage girl who killed herself after receiving cruel messages on MySpace, the AP reports. The woman, Lori Drew, is charged with pretending to be a teenage boy on the site and having a helper taunt the 13-year-old victim. Drew faces up to 20 years in prison on counts of conspiracy and accessing protected computers. 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»

Trial opens in nation's first cyber-bullying case

(NEWSER) - A mother tearfully recalled in a Los Angeles court yesterday how her 13-year-old daughter hanged herself shortly after receiving a hateful online message from a neighbor woman posing as a teenage boy, AP reports. Lori Drew allegedly created a MySpace persona named Josh to first woo then harass Megan Meier, prosecutors argued as the nation's first-ever cyber bullying case got underway. More»

Site's obscure contract, which most ignore, is key to the case

(NEWSER) - A criminal indictment over MySpace bullying that led to a Missouri teen's suicide sets an unusual and perhaps dangerous legal precedent, experts say. Because her activities violated the site’s terms of use, Lori Drew faces charges of computer fraud and abuse related to the death of Megan Meier, Wired reports—and the charges involve a contract that few users even bother to read. More»