Internet pranksters are placed on notice!
I originally posted this in November 2007.
Parents say fake online 'friend' led to girl's suicide - CNN.com
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Nov 18, 2007
Parents say fake online 'friend' led to girl's suicide - CNN.com
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/11/17/...
Story Highlights Family says teen was upset after "Josh" ended their friendship on MySpace "Josh" turned out to be the creation of a neighborhood family Parents want the people who made the fraudulent online profile to be prosecuted Girl's mother: Law enforcement officials say the case doesn't fit into any lawNext Article in U.S. »
I believe that
this story should be read by the entire Vox community. Should
something be done? And if so, what?
7 comments Tags: myspace, suicide
Now it is time for the lasted update 16 May 08. And from my perspective, it looks like justice has been properly served.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The groundbreaking move by
federal authorities to indict a Missouri mother on charges connected
to the suicide of a 13-year-old MySpace user has sent a strong
message to the online world: Internet impostors may be prosecuted
Megan Meier, 13, hanged herself in her bedroom after being targeted in a MySpace hoax.
"The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop," FBI official Salvador Hernandez said Thursday as prosecutors unveiled a case that employs laws usually used against hackers to go after the alleged perpetrator of a false-identity hoax.
Lori Drew, 49, of suburban St. Louis, Missouri, was charged with conspiracy and fraudulently gaining access to someone else's computer. She allegedly helped create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist to convince young neighbor Megan Meier she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans.
Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006, allegedly after receiving a dozen or more cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.
"They exploited a young girl's weaknesses," Hernandez charged. "Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions."
He called the case "heart-rending."
For full story, click here.
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Comments
I've read about this - its such a tragic story. And you know what? This is only one isolated case - things like this happen all the time, especially to girls in high school who do things like that to each other - who's monitoring that? How can that stuff be monitored? Bullying has shifted to the internet realm and there hasn't been a really safe solution to the growing problem. This article has just presented a problem has has existed for a while.
Back when I was in high school I was friends with a let's say more popular girl who did that to another girl - I thought it was mean and convinced her that the time to pull that prank was just too time consuming and not worth it. She stopped, and I did tell the other girl about it too - but these things just keep happening, and what happened if I wasn't there to make it my business? What a world we live in.
You know its tragic how our very own technology can be used against us.
Technology is fantastic but the end users are often a bit socially backwards thinkers.
Innovation cannot be crushed or hindered just because a few bad apples forgo what the majority holds to be true and tested means of conduct in our every changing societies.