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INTERNET SAFETY NEWS
Twenty years ago, an image of a school bully might bring to mind a big kid shaking down a weaker student for lunch money.
These days, however, technology has made harassment a whole new game, minus the wedgies and swirlies.
If ture, what Lori Drew did is reprehensible. The 49-year-old suburban St. Louis woman is said to have helped create an account on the MySpace online social network for a fictional character named Josh Evans. Josh began sending messages to Megan Meier, a 13-year-old girl who went to school with Ms. Drew's daughter. He wrote in one posting that he thought Megan was "sexi." Megan soon became infatuated and proclaimed her love for the boy. But the flirtation ended just as quickly and mysteriously as it had begun. Josh's last communique to Megan came on Oct. 16, 2006: "The world would be a better place without you." Later that day, Megan, who had a history of mental health issues, hanged herself in her bedroom.
Rep. Linda Sanchez, who took on bullies in schools, now wants to take on the cyber kind.
Sanchez, D-Lakewood, has introduced legislation that would criminalize cyberbullying by giving prosecutors the ability to punish those who use the Internet, or other electronic means, to coerce, intimidate, harass or cause emotional distress.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An Illinois measure that would criminalize Internet bullying is in Governor Rod Blagojevich's hands.
The state House on Thursday signed off on the bill. It outlaws the use of the Internet to harass someone and specifically bars the posting of threatening comments on Web sites or online message boards.
Missouri governor Matt Blunt is expected to sign a cyberbullying bill that calls for stiff penalties in the wake of the Megan Meier case.
"Social networking sites and technology have opened a new door for criminals and bullies to prey on their victims," Blunt said in a statement. "These protections ensure that our laws now have the protections and penalties needed to safeguard Missourians from Internet harassment."
BEDFORD, Va. (AP) A Bedford County-based task force formed to track online sexual predators will use $750,000 in state funds to double its investigators.
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