Legal Consequences
of Cyberbullying
It's not just bullying - it's criminal
"It was just spur of the moment. I was with my friends at the time, so it was just messing around. I didn't mean for her to see it all, it was just a joke with my friends. I thought only my friends on my Facebook would see it..."
Keeley Houghton, 18 convicted of Internet bullying in the UK and jailed for three months after posting a threatening message towards another teen on Facebook.
The best possible solution to prevent cyberbullying is to promote healthy relationships for everyone, so that we treat each other with dignity and respect and bullying no longer has any place in our society. However, changing the culture that accepts bullying as a form of behaviour or even entertainment - as is played out in much of today’s popular culture – is often more difficult than changing policy and law. Recent high profile cases of teens in Canada and abroad who have committed suicide because of relentless cyberbullying, has increased the public call for accountability. There are already rules in place to protect children but it is likely stricter policies will eventually be introduced.
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