The Megan Meier Act states that "electronic communications provide anonymity to the perpetrator and the potential for widespread public distribution, potentially making them severely dangerous and cruel to youth," and that "cyberbullying can cause psychological harm, including depression; negatively impact academic performance, safety, and the well-being of children in school; force children to change schools; and in some cases lead to extreme violent behavior, including murder and suicide." But its real meat is the following:

Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Part of the No Child Left Behind Act does require schools to institute anti-bullying efforts, but no federal law currently prohibits cyberbullying. The Megan Meier Act would change that. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) argues that the law is necessary because, "Bullying has gone electronic. This literally means kids can be bullies at any hour of the day or the night, or even in the victims' own home." British bullying victim Emily Moor agrees. Of her harassment from the ages of 13 to 18, she says, "Bullying usually ends when you leave school, but with Facebook it feels as if there is no end." Her mother adds,

The internet is a sinister, silent enemy: you simply don't know where to start to tackle the problem. But faceless as a computer may be, it is every bit as threatening as a physical bully, if not more so because the audience reading these horrible messages can be enormous.

The Daily Mail is calling Moor's tormentor "the first Internet bully sent to jail" in Britain, but she also physically assaulted Moor, and it's likely she would go to jail in the US too, cyberbullying laws or no. And many in the House feel that specific laws preventing online harassment give prosecutors too much power. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) says the Megan Meier Act "appears to be another chapter of over criminalization," and that it could be used to prosecute the "mean-spirited liberals" who criticize him on blogs. He added that prosecutors might use the law to "harass the harasser," and that, "a good prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich."

While harassment by a sandwich is something I'd like to see, it is true that the Internet is still relatively uncharted legal territory, and laws regarding it can be misused. Megan Meier's harasser Lori Drew was initially convicted of violating the MySpace terms of service, but a judge overturned her conviction because it would allow anyone who violated a website's service terms to be prosecuted. As heinous as Drew's behavior was, such a precedent might give websites enormous powers to get users thrown behind bars for crimes much less serious than hers.

Then there's the question of whether legislation is even the right way to combat bullying. Forty-five states now have some sort of anti-cyberbullying law, but harassment researcher Catherine Hill says there's no indication yet that they actually prevent bullying. And Justin W. Patchin, coauthor of Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying, says,

I really don't want to criminalize this behavior. I think there is a role for both the federal and state governments in terms of educating local school districts about what cyber-bullying is and what they can do about it, and providing resources to help them prevent and respond to online aggression. But criminalization doesn't seem to me to be the best approach.

Whenever a child is bullied, especially when the bullying has dire consequences as in the case of Megan Meier (pictured, with her mom), it's natural to ask why the authorities in the child's life didn't offer protection. And schools shouldn't throw up their hands and dismiss bullying as a fact of life, as Moor's school initially did. Criminally prosecuting bullying after the fact may have a place in any anti-bullying campaign, especially inasmuch as acknowledges that virtual harassment can cause real harm. But the often anonymous nature of cyberbullying will always make it difficult to prosecute all offenders, and the danger of over-prosecution is (despite Gohmert's flippancy) a real one. Just as British libel laws can leave some journalists afraid to criticize anyone, cyberbullying laws could unfairly target bloggers. It might be more effective to prevent cyberbullying at the source, by teaching kids better methods of conflict resolution. Patchin himself, however, admits that we're still not sure how to do this. Cyberbullying may be new, but bullying itself is one of the many ancient human evils we don't really know how to curtail. At least Megan Meier's case has made us aware that we need to.

Cyberbullying Bill Gets Chilly Reception [Wired]
Facebook Bullies Ruined My Life: As The First Internet Bully Is Sent To Jail, The Story That Will Terrify Every Parent [Daily Mail]
Preventing Cyberbullying Remains Terra Incognita [Miller-McCune]

Drew, 50, was supposed to be sentenced yesterday after being convicted in November of three misdemeanor charges for unauthorized computer access. She faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $300,000 fine, but probation authorities recently recommended probation and a $5,000 fine.

After authorities in Drew's home state of Missouri declined to charge her in connection to 13-year-old Megan Meier's suicide, prosecutors in Los Angeles, where MySpace is based, charged Drew using the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a federal anti-hacking statute. The prosecution argued that Drew's violation of MySpace's terms of service when she created a fake profile to harass Meier was the legal equivalent of computer hacking, but U.S. District Judge George Wu said the prosecution's argument was "troublesome," according to the Los Angeles Times. "Using this particular statute in this particular situation is so weird," said Wu.

In an hour long discussion yesterday, Wu questioned Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause on the law used to prosecute Drew, reports Wired. "Is a misdemeanor committed by the conduct which is done every single day by millions and millions of people?" asked Wu, "If these people do read [the "terms of service"] and still say they're 40 when they are 45, is that a misdemeanor?"

Krause responded that Drew committed a crime by signing up for the fake MySpace account with the intent to harm Meier, and that she knew her actions were illegal because she deleted the account shortly after the girl's suicide. After the jury verdict in November, the defense sought a directed acquittal on grounds that the defense did not prove their case. Judges usually quickly overrule such motions, but Wu has delayed his ruling for more than five months. Now he has further postponed the sentencing because he wants to reconsider Drew's punishment and the defense motion to dismiss the entire case.

Megan Meier's parents both spoke at the hearing. Wu did not look at Ron Meier during the first part of his statement, and only turned to him when his voice broke as he said, "I am no longer married to Megan's mom... We are both financially ruined, and I have gone through a living hell."

Tina Meier began her statement by repeating some details she mentioned during the trial itself; Wu interrupted her, saying she had already testified about those facts. Ms. Meier, who has been campaigning against cyberbullying across the country since her daughter's death, closed her statement by saying, "This is not just about Megan Meier," and that Lori Drew needs to be punished in order to "make a stand now for all the people who go through this."

MySpace Hoax Sentencing Delayed [The Los Angeles Times]
Judge Postpones Lori Drew Sentencing, Weighs Dismissal [Wired]

Earlier: Crime & Punishment
Breaking
MySpace Trial Jurors Wanted A Harsher Sentence For Lori Drew
Megan Meier's Mother Talks To Today About MySpace Verdict

The film, "inspired by recent events" will center around a grieving mother who "retaliates against those she feels were responsible for her daughter's death." So, not only is this movie a tasteless exploitation of the Meier family's tragedy, but it also entirely rewrites events vigilante-style! However, this is not the first time the Megan Meier case has "inspired" entertainment: an episode of Law & Order: SVU titled "Babes" featured a story line obviously ripped from the headlines of the MySpace Suicide case. There is no release date set yet for E-Venge. Who will play Lori Drew? [Cinema Blend]

As previously mentioned, Drew was found guilty of computer fraud, but the conspiracy charges brought against her were dropped. Today Judge George Wu will hear arguments to set aside the verdicts against Lori Drew. In his dismissal motion, defense attorney Dean Steward wrote: “Put simply, the question is this: Is it a federal crime to violate a Web site term of service? The correct answer should be a resounding no.” Drew currently faces up to three years in prision and a $300,000 fine. [AP & Wired]

Authorities say that 21-year-old Williams sent a lewd text message to a 17-year-old girl whom she had heard was involved with her boyfriend. The specifics of the text message were not released, but some voicemails that Williams and others had left the girl threatened rape.

Williams' lawyer, Michael Kielty, claims that the new law which his client is accused under is poorly written and makes something illegal which wouldn't be under other circumstances:

Kielty said Missouri's revised harassment measures are bad law. "It's probably one of the worst written laws I've seen in my career," he said.

He said kids used to say things face to face or pass notes in school commenting on someone's looks or weight. The new law "criminalizes behavior that otherwise wouldn't be illegal except for the medium," he said.

"It's not criminal. It might be mean-spirited, but it's not criminal," he said.

One of the problems with Kielty's arguments is that Williams' behavior would in fact be considered criminal in another medium. The prosecutor of the Williams case notes that telephone harassment (which is essentially what Williams did) has been a crime for years in Missouri.

Kielty argues that because dumb kids say dumb things to each other about their looks or weight (he carefully avoids talking about threatening sexual violence) that Williams' harassment should not be seen as illegal.

Anyone who has been in high school in the past 15 years knows that harassment akin to the Meier's and William's cases are common. Kids do dumb things on the internet all the time, but now the dramatic influence of bullying and girl-on-girl crime are getting national attention. Are we—as some of the commenters on the Wired blog fear—turning into a coddling nanny state by expecting laws to save us from any uncomfortable moment? Or would ignoring these cases of bullying just make it okay for people to make threats of sexual and non-sexual violence just because they did it over a text message or a Myspace bulletin and not to the victim's face?

Prosecutors Charge Seven People Under New Cyberbullying Law [Wired]
Woman Accused Under New Cyberbullying Law [CBS News]

The passionate response of the jury has not been felt by legal experts, many of whom believe the decision against Drew sets a dangerous precedent. According to Groklaw's Pamela Jones (via Wired), because Drew was convicted of violating the oft-ignored terms of service, "I don't think it's overstating it a bit to say that unless this case is overturned, it is time to get off the internet completely, because it will have become too risky to use a computer. At a minimum, I'd feel I'd need to avoid signing up for membership at any website, particularly MySpace." Some federal law experts expect the ruling in the case to be overturned when it comes up in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, since they believe the interpretation of the law is a stretch.

But apparently the jurors for the case were not upset by the new interpretation of the decades-old Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to include violations of terms of service. "The thing that really bothered me was that (Drew's) attorney kept claiming that nobody reads the terms of service," Kunasz tells Wired. "I always read the terms of service. . . . If you choose to be lazy and not go though that entire agreement or contract of agreement then absolutely you should be held liable." Lori Drew has clearly been convicted in the court of public (and jury) opinion — but does her case hold up when held to emotion-free scrutiny?

Jurors Wanted To Convict Lori Drew Of Felonies But Were Stymied By Prosecutors [Wired]
Can Lori Drew Verdict Survive The 9th Circuit Court? [Wired]

Earlier: Megan Meier's Mother Talks To Today About MySpace Verdict
Lori Drew Verdict
MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger"
MySpace Trial, Day 3: Lori Drew's Daughter Speaks
MySpace Trial, Day 4: Sarah Drew Says Megan "Was My Best Friend"

Though the jurors did not indicate which charge they're hung up on, Wired also makes the point that three of the charges are nearly identical, so it's likely that the conspiracy charge is the one they're struggling with. In addition, "Jurors can find Drew guilty of conspiracy if they conclude that she schemed with others in violating MySpace's terms, without necessarily committing a computer crime herself." However, some detractors of Federal prosecutor Thomas O'Brien still believe that Lori Drew should not have been charged in the first place. Reason Magazine's Jacob Sullum says:

The charges did not fit the facts of the case…[O'Brien] never presented any evidence that Drew saw MySpace's Terms Of Service, let alone agreed to them. Furthermore, O'Brien's interpretation of the law would make criminals of us all. Shortly after the indictment, Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor who later volunteered as a pro bono attorney for Drew, noted, "Since everyone who uses computers violates dozens of different TOS every day, the theory would make everyone who uses computers a felon."

The jury will reconvene at 9 a.m. to try to hash out that final charge and attempt to reach a unanimous verdict.

Lori Drew Jury Nears Verdict on Three Charges, Struggles With Fourth [Wired]
MySpace Jury Reaches Verdicts On Some Counts [L.A. Times]
Thomas O'Brien's MySpace Hoax [Reason]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger"
MySpace Trial, Day 3: Lori Drew's Daughter Speaks
MySpace Trial, Day 4: Sarah Drew Says Megan "Was My Best Friend"

• Megan allegedly called Sarah an "ugly lesbian," which is what prompted Lori Drew and her business assistant, Ashley Grills, to create the fake MySpace account in the first place.
• According to People:
  

  Drew's now 16-year-old daughter Sarah testified Monday that, on Oct. 16, she was with Grills and, "I told her not to send that last message" to Megan that said that the world would be a better place without her.
  "Did Ashley send that last message?" O'Brien asked.
  "Yes," Drew said as she wept.
  Two of the six female jurors dabbed at their eyes.
  "She was my best friend," the defendant's daughter tearfully recalled.

• Defense attorney Dean Steward said in his closing statements that Drew can not be guilty of a conspiracy because a conspiracy implies intent. Drew didn't even read the MySpace terms of use, so she could not have intentionally violated them. "Nobody reads these things, nobody," he said. "... How can you violate something when you haven't even read it? End of case. The case is over."
• More from Steward: "If you hadn't heard the indictment read to you, you'd think this was a homicide case…And it's not a homicide case. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a computer case, and that's what you need to decide."
• In addition, he added that there was no cyberbullying in this case because "Megan dished it out the same way that she got it," and Steward also said, "[Ashley] Grills, bless her heart, is pathetic."
• The prosecution focused on the tragedy of the case in order to sway jurors. According to the AP, "Lori Drew decided to humiliate a child," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said. "The only way she could harm this pretty little girl was with a computer. She chose to use a computer to hurt a little girl, and for four weeks she enjoyed it."
• "The tragedy in this case is not just Megan Meier's suicide," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien said in his closing arguments to jurors, Reuters reports. "It's the fact that it was so preventable. If, as a 47-year-old woman Lori Drew was so upset that Megan Meier had called her daughter ugly or a lesbian, she could have gone over and talked to her mom and we wouldn't be here."

Judge Postpones Ruling On Lori Drew MySpace Trial [Wired]
Jury Gets Case Of MySpace Hoax Tied To Suicide [AP via MSNBC]
Cyber-Bullying Suicide Case Goes to Jury [People]
Jury To Deliberate In MySpace Suicide Case [Reuters]
Lori Drew Case Goes To Jury [Wired]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger"
MySpace Trial, Day 3: Lori Drew's Daughter Speaks

• Sarah Drew told the court that her mother Lori thought the MySpace hoax was a good idea only for the first two weeks of tormenting Megan. Sarah claims that Lori told her assistant, Ashley Grills, to delete the "Josh" profile at that time.
• According to the AP, " Sarah also said she tried to stop Grills from sending the final message. 'I was like, Ashley, no, don't send it,' Sarah said. 'She said she sent it and laughed about it.'"
• Sarah testified that she never saw her mother use the MySpace account, directly contradicting Grills.
• Also from the AP:
  

  Sarah said Megan confided in her on two occasions that she wanted to kill herself. "She was like, I don't know if I could live anymore," she said of one instance. "I told her not to do it." Sarah cried on the witness stand and nodded when O'Brien questioned her about why she didn't tell any adults about the suicide conversations. Defense attorney Dean Steward stood up and lashed out at the region's top federal prosecutor for badgering the teenage girl.

• After the prosecution rested its case on Friday, Wired reports, Drew's defense asked for an immediate dismissal based on Sarah's testimony that Lori Drew never read or agreed to the MySpace terms of use, and as a result could not have violated these terms. Furthermore, Ashley Grills accepted these terms of use, not Lori Drew.
• From Wired:
  

  Wu retired to his chambers to review transcripts of previous testimony and consider the motion. When he emerged 30 minutes later, he asked both sides to file written briefs on the issue. He allowed the defense to proceed with direct examination of its witnesses and said he'd give his decision about the motion to dismiss on Monday.

Daughter Defends Mom In MySpace Hoax Trial [AP via USA Today]
Judge Considers Throwing Out Lori Drew Case [Wired]

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
MySpace Trial, Day 2: Lori Drew Says, "It's Not Like I Pulled The Trigger."

• ...Just like Lance Armstrong, Hitler, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the other dudes with a single testicle.
• But as far as we know, those dudes have bellybuttons, unlike Karolina Kurkova, the no-navel icon.
• She may have a navel, but Lori Drew has no soul.
• Michelle Obama has a soul and, according to an obsessed Salon scribe, a big butt.

• Do vampires like big butts? Maybe we'll find out as Twilight mania takes over the nation.
• Vampires seem rather chivalrous, unlike many modern men, so at least they'd let your big butt in the cab first.
• Speaking of nether regions, one time Carrie Fisher's mom got her a vibrator for Christmas.
• A wrap dress will cover up your business (usually), but is it ever flattering?
• Victoria's Secret fashion show: covering your business in maribou since 1977.
• You guys. Thank effing Gawd it's Friday! So eat, read celebrity gossip on the internet and nap the day away. You deserve it!

• When Lori Drew helped set up the fake MySpace account because Megan had allegedly been mean to her daughter Sarah, she bragged to her hairdresser Christina Chu about it. Chu was so upset over Drew's callousness she had to retreat to the back of the salon.
• "After Meier's death, on the day of her wake, Drew showed up again to have her hair done. Chu asked Drew why she was going to the wake, given her role in the cyberbullying. Drew's response, Chu said, was, 'It's not like I pulled the trigger,'" Wired reports.
• In his cross-examination of Tina Meier, Drew's lawyer pummeled her on Megan's past internet behavior. According to Wired, before the Meiers' started monitoring Megan's internet usage closely, "Megan created a MySpace profile as an 18-year-old woman, and swapped sexually-charged banter with other users, he said, citing notes he'd obtained from Megan's psychologist." The lawyer pointed out that Megan had also violated MySpace's terms of service at one point by lying about her age.
• Drew's lawyer also pointed out that Megan was taking a trio of antidepressants when she died. "One of them, the antidepressant citalopram, has a reported side affect of contributing to suicidal behavior in children and adolescents suffering from depression, he noted."
• Ashley Grills, the then-18-year-old who was Lori Drew's assistant, said that the creation of the MySpace account was initially her idea, but that Lori Drew agreed and "thought it was funny," the L.A. Times notes.
• Grills said that Lori Drew was present when they agreed to the terms of service, but neither woman read them.
• From the L.A. Times:
  

  Grills testified that she, Drew and Drew's daughter were trying to figure out a way "to expose Megan" for rumors she'd allegedly been spreading about Sarah…She said Drew also helped formulate messages that were sent to Megan and at one point suggested that they have 'Josh' arrange a meeting with Megan at a local mall at which Sarah and her friends would 'pop out' and tease Megan.

• This part also hurts the case of MySpace fraud against Drew: the final contact between Megan and "Josh" took place on AOL Instant Messenger, according to testimony by Grills.
• Grills also testified that she had no idea that Megan had had emotional problems in the past, until Drew told her shortly after Megan's death, "We could have pushed her overboard because she was suicidal and depressed.'"
• When the Drew family and Grills got word that Megan had killed herself, they got off the internet and turned on the TV. Shortly thereafter, Wired reports, "Curt Drew started yelling at them to get rid of the MySpace account. When asked what Lori Drew did at that moment, Grills said at first she sat quietly and was consoling her daughter, then she, too, started yelling at them to delete the account and told them not to say anything to anyone."

Earlier: MySpace Trial, Day 1: Megan Meier's Last Words
Megan Meier's MySpace Hoax Tormenter: "I Just Wanted It To End"