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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: cyberbullying

cyberbullying stories: 15 news summaries

(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... More »

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social networking • suicide • MySpace • prosecutor • bullying • Missouri • misdemeanor • cyberbullying

Feds Seek
3 Years for 'Cyberbully' in Teen's Suicide

Probation is no deterrent: prosecutors

May 7, 09 8:50 AM CDT
(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... More »

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suicide • MySpace • sentencing • Federal Court • cyberbullying • Megan Meier • teen suicide • Lori Drew

Student Sues Over Facebook Suspension

Constitutional case
asks if school can limit online expression

Dec 9, 08 3:39 PM CST
(Newser) - With the help of the ACLU, a Florida high school grad is suing a former principal for violating her constitutional rights in suspending her for “cyber-bullying” a teacher, the Miami Herald reports. Katherine Evans created a Facebook page railing against her “worst teacher,” and asked classmates to... More »

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high school • Facebook • ACLU • cyberbullying • freedom of speech • teenager • teacher • harrassment

MySpace Bully Not Guilty on Key Felony Charge

Drew convicted on lesser charges of using computer without authorization

Nov 26, 08 2:13 PM CST
(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... More »

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MySpace • federal courts • jury • misdemeanor • cyberbullying • Megan Meier • Lori Drew • harrassment

 MySpace Suicide 
 Case Goes to Jury 

Missouri mom accused of bullying neighborhood teen with fake persona

Nov 25, 08 1:34 PM CST
(Newser) - Lori Drew’s fate is in the hands of a California jury as the case of the “MySpace bully” goes into deliberations, Wired reports. After forceful closing arguments yesterday, the jury will decide whether the mother committed computer fraud by creating a false online identity used to bully a... More »

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MySpace • jury • cyberbullying • Megan Meier • Internet fraud • Lori Drew • criminal trial • deliberations • Tina Meier • Sarah Drew

 Cyber-Sneak 
 Mom 'Bullied 
 My Baby 
 to Suicide' 

Trial opens in nation's first cyber-bullying case

Nov 20, 08 3:28 AM CST
(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,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
suicide • MySpace • depression • cyberbullying • Megan Meier • Lori Drew • attention deficit disorder • Josh Evans • Tina Meier

Suicide Prompts Uproar Over Cyber-Insults in S. Korea

Officials push for tougher punishments for 'cyber-terrorism'

Oct 26, 08 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - The suicide of a popular actress is prompting South Korean officials to get tough with “cyber-terrorists,” the Los Angeles Times reports. Choi Jin-sil hanged herself this month after Internet rumors blamed her for the death of a fellow actor. “People who inflict cyber-terrorism must pay the appropriate... More »

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Internet • suicide • South Korea • crime • cyberterrorism • cyberbullying

MySpace Hoaxer Drew Bragged About Deadly Prank

Woman said she was 'playing a joke' on teen who would commit suicide

Sep 24, 08 3:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Missouri mother Lori Drew proudly boasted to her hairdresser and others about her MySpace prank before it led to Megan Meier's suicide, reports the Smoking Gun. Drew “denied any untoward purpose and dismissed concerns over her ‘prank,’” court filings say. But after Meier died, Drew tried... More »

MORE ABOUT:
MySpace • FBI • cyberbullying • Megan Meier • Lori Drew

MySpace Bully's Case Sets Risky Course: Experts

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

May 16, 08 2:43 PM CDT
(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... More »

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social networking • suicide • MySpace • indictment • contract • cyberbullying • Megan Meier • Internet crime • teenager • Lori Drew • precedent

Video-Beating Teens Could Face Life

They'll be tried as adults on kidnapping, battery charges

Apr 11, 08 11:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The eight Florida teens who videotaped a half-hour beating of a classmate will be tried as adults and could face life behind bars if convicted, CNN reports. The suspects face felony kidnapping charges, and three also face witness tampering raps. They seemed remorseless, a sheriff said. “They were joking:... More »

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Florida • YouTube • crime • bullying • attack • cyberbullying • cheerleading • teenager

Teenager's
Beating Raises
Cyberbully Fears

Bizarre confrontation triggered by MySpace trash-talking

Apr 10, 08 5:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Parents and educators are still puzzling over how a dispute among girls got so out of hand that it ended with six Florida cheerleaders giving a high school classmate a concussion in a vicious beating. Teen bullying is nothing new but the fact that the feud started on MySpace and... More »

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Florida • YouTube • MySpace • bullying • cyberbullying • cheerleading • teenager

No Charges in Cyberbullying Suicide Case

Prosecutor pressing
for internet
harassment laws

Dec 4, 07 4:00 AM CST
(Newser) - No charges will be filed in the cyberbullying case that led a young girl to commit suicide, Wired reports. A Missouri prosecutor found there was not enough evidence to prove criminal intent on the part of mother Lori Drew and others who launched an online bullying campaign against 13-year-old Megan... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • Internet • suicide • MySpace • cyberbullying • Megan Meier

Anger Brews Over Cyber Suicide

Hoaxers who drove teen to kill herself untouched by law

Nov 17, 07 4:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Police fear a "mob mentality" is brewing in a St. Louis suburb after a 13-year-old girl killed herself, and the hoaxers who allegedly prodded her have gone free. Two adults—parents of the girl's friend—badgered Megan Meier online until she hanged herself in her closet last October. Cops... More »

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suicide • MySpace • St. Louis • Missouri • cyberbullying • Dardenne Prairie • Internet hoax

Bullying Cases Spike in Japan

Six students commit suicide, 125K cases reported despite government plan

Nov 16, 07 10:44 PM CST
(Newser) - School bullying cases have spiked sixfold in Japan this year, according to a new survey that highlights a dark issue in Japanese education. Officials blame the 125,000 cases on a recent, broader definition of bullying and the addition of more schools to the tally—but admit to six student... More »

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education • high school • Japan • bullying • cyberbullying • teenager

British Schools Crack Down on 'Cyberbullying'

Teachers want mobile phones considered 'offensive weapons'

Sep 23, 07 10:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - England's education chief wants schools to put their digital foot down when it comes to “cyberbullying.” The schools should confiscate mobile phones when necessary and pull down hurtful material from websites, the BBC reports. The schools chief called cyberbullying a particularly “insidious” form of abuse because it... More »

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education • England • cyberbullying

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