As technology becomes more prevalent, more people - usually kids - are being cyberbullied. Here are some cases that have made the news:
Cyberbullying Cases in Canada
2002 - Ontario man David Knight led a years-long fight against cyberbullying. A website was created with the intention to torment Knight - Welcome to the Page that Makes Fun of Dave Knight. The website featured photos of David and pages of hateful comments toward the high school student. Viewers were encouraged to post lewd, sexual comments to smear Knight's reputation.
As CBC News reported, the effects on the entire Knight family were devastating. When the police were unable to help, the family turned to Yahoo, the website's host. After a seven month battle and the threat of legal action, Yahoo took down the website.
2003 - Perhaps the most famous cyberbullying victim to date is teenager Ghyslain Raza. The Quebec teen made a video of himself wielding a golf ball retriever as a lightsaber as he pretended to be Star Wars character Darth Maul. Classmates found the tape and uploaded it onto the Internet.
According to a Business Insider article, within weeks Raza’s video became one of the most downloaded video clips ever, earning him the nickname of the Star Wars Kid. Unfortunately for Ghyslain Raza, the video clip was not a flattering one, showing his lack of athletic skill and his portly figure. Raza was ridiculed and humiliated to the point that he dropped out of school and underwent psychiatric care.
2004 - A MacLeans article told the story of Amy Boucher, a Montreal teen, had been thrilled to discover an art website where she could chat with others and share her passion for art. But when another girl on the site claimed Amy didn't reply to an email she sent, the two got into an online spat and Amy's attempts at resolving the situation were rebuffed.
For three years, the angry girl led an online smear campaign against Amy. On numerous occasions, other girls logged into the art website under Amy's profile and tormented others, knowing Amy would be held fully responsible. At other times, the girls would send hateful emails to Amy. Eventually Amy was diagnosed with depression.
U.S. Cyberbullying Cases
2006 - Lori Drew, a Missouri mom, was upset when her daughter and her daughter's 13-year-old friend, Megan Meier, had a falling out. Drew set up a MySpace account under the fictitious name of Josh Evans, a 16-year-old boy, and befriended Megan.
In time, 'Evans' sent cruel messages to Megan, including one stating that the world would be a better place without her. 'Evans' then broke off the relationship. Devastated, Megan hung herself. A trial is underway and Drew has been charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the first time it has been used in a social networking case. What started out as a harmless interaction has turned into a landmark case.
Wired magazine reported that Drew was found guilty of the three charges against her but upon appeal, a judge overturned the verdict.
2008 - The Minneapolis - St. Paul Star Tribune told the story of files that were laid against a Missouri teen who created a phony Facebook account in order to win the affections of a boy that another girl was interested in. The girl who created the bogus account wanted the boy all to herself. This is a classic example of people who create fake Facebook, MySpace, or other online accounts with the purpose of harassing others.
2010 - The New York Daily News reported that 15-year-old Phoebe Prince took her own life in January after months of being bullied online and at school. She was constantly harassed through text messages and on social networking sites. After her death, those responsible for the bullying went on Facebook and mocked her death. The police arrested and charged nine students at the high school she attended; the charges ranged from criminal harassment to stalking to violations of civil rights.
2010 - University student Tyler Clementi jumped to his death off a bridge in September. Clementi's sexual encounter with another man in his dorm room was video streamed on the internet by his roommate and a hallmate. After the roommate's second attempt to record another of Clementi's sexual encounters, Clementi committed suicide. The roommate and hallmate have been charged with invasion of privacy, as reported by ABC News.
2010 - A California court has ruled that several high school students are to be charged with defamation and hate crimes after posting cruel and threatening comments on a classmate's website. According to CNN's SciTechBlog, a 15-year-old high school student created a website in 2005 to promote his singing and acting career. The offending teens found the website and proceeded to post cruel messages on it. The police were unable to help so the victim's father sued six of the offenders and their parents and won his fight in court.
Cyberbullying Cases in Europe and Asia
2003 - BBC News shared the story of 15-year-old England teen, Jodi Plumb, who discovered a website had been created solely to torment her. The site contained slurs about her weight and declared a date for her death. This followed two years of harassment and two attacks at school. The website was eventually removed.
2005 - A woman was riding the subway in South Korea with her pooch when he had to do his business. The woman refused to pick up his feces, angering some of the other passengers. One of them took pictures of the incident with a camera phone and posted them on a popular website. She immediately got stuck with the nickname "Dog Poop Girl" and within days her private information and details about her past were posted online. The story was detailed by the Washington Post.
Online chat rooms were filled with talk about the woman's life and she was torn to shreds in the virtual world. People eventually found her address and tormented her in person, leading her to drop out of school and move to another part of the country.
2010 - Three Google executives were found guilty in Milan, Italy, of violating the privacy of an autistic boy who was taunted in a video posted on Google. According to the U.K. Daily Mail, the executives were sentenced to six-month suspended jail terms.
Technology can be an advantageous tool but, in the wrong hands and with bad intentions, things can turn ugly.
For more information, check out Facts About Cyberbullying
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
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