Editing Cyberbullying (section)

== Legislation ==
{{Main|Cyberstalking legislation}}

=== United States ===
Legislation geared at penalizing cyberbullying has been introduced in a number of U.S. states including New York, Missouri, Rhode Island and Maryland. At least 45 states have passed laws against digital harassment.<ref>{{cite news|last=PÉREZ-PEÑA|first=RICHARD|title=Christie Signs Tougher Law on Bullying in Schools|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/nyregion/07bully.html?_r=0|access-date=January 6, 2011}}</ref> Dardenne Prairie of Springfield, Missouri, passed a city ordinance making online harassment a misdemeanor. The city of St. Charles, Missouri passed a similar ordinance. Missouri is among the states where lawmakers are pursuing state legislation, with task forces expected to have cyberbullying laws drafted and implemented.<ref>[http://www.pantagraph.com/news/bill-targets-adults-who-cyberbully/article_6ade6d44-a162-54d1-9be0-88bebf181f6d.html Bill targets adults who cyberbully] Pantagraph, by Kevin Mcdermott, December 20, 2007</ref> In June 2008, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) proposed a federal law that would criminalize acts of cyberbullying.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090730051248/http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9962375-7.html A rallying cry against cyberbullying]. CNET News, by Stefanie Olsen, June 7, 2008</ref>

Lawmakers are seeking to address cyberbullying with new legislation because there is currently no specific law on the books that deals with it. A fairly new federal cyberstalking law might address such acts, according to [[Parry Aftab]], but no one has been prosecuted under it yet. The proposed federal law would make it illegal to use electronic means to "coerce, intimidate, harass or cause other substantial emotional distress."

In August 2008, the California state legislature passed one of the first laws in the country to deal directly with cyberbullying. Assembly Bill 86 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fbusd.us/vnews/display.v/ART/4cd41cda558da%3C|title=Fort Bragg USD|access-date=November 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113152021/http://www.fbusd.us/vnews/display.v/ART/4cd41cda558da%3C|archive-date=January 13, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> gives school administrators the authority to discipline students for bullying, offline or online.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centerdigitaled.com/edtech/Education-Legislation-Cyber-Bullying.html |title=Education Legislation: Cyber-Bullying |publisher=Centerdigitaled.com |date=March 16, 2009 |access-date=June 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215110941/http://www.centerdigitaled.com/edtech/Education-Legislation-Cyber-Bullying.html |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This law took effect on January 1, 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/31/AR2008123103067.html|title=States Passing Laws to Combat Cyber-Bullying&nbsp;— washingtonpost.com|work=The Washington Post |access-date=January 2, 2009|last=Surdin|first=Ashley | date=January 1, 2009}}</ref>

A law in New York's Albany County that criminalized cyberbullying was struck down as unconstitutional by the [[New York Court of Appeals]] in ''[[People v. Marquan M.]]''

A recent{{when|date=December 2017}} ruling first seen in the UK determined that it is possible for an [[Internet service provider]] (ISP) to be liable for the content of the sites it hosts, setting a precedent that any ISP should treat a notice of complaint seriously and investigate it immediately.<ref>[http://www.out-law.com/page-5624 International IT and e-commerce legal info]. Out-law.com. Retrieved on July 6, 2011.</ref>

{{uscsub|18|875|c}} criminalizes the making of threats via the Internet.

While some states have laws that require schools to mediate cyberbullying conflicts, several states have been sued on First Amendment grounds for doing so. By examining the decisions of three such lawsuits heard in lower courts, Alvin J. Primack and Kevin A. Johnson argued that current First Amendment doctrine, particularly the case of ''Morse v. Frederick'' (2007), may offer interpretive resources for justifying administrative reach to some online digital speech. They concluded, "[w]ithout clearer standards, school administrators are likely to feel constrained and err on the side of inaction."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Primack|first1=Alvin J.|last2=Johnson|first2=Kevin A.|date=Spring 2017|title=Student cyberbullying inside the digital schoolhouse gate: Toward a standard for determining where a "School" is|journal=First Amendment Studies|volume=51|issue=1|pages=30–48|doi=10.1080/21689725.2016.1278177|s2cid=151924347}}</ref>

=== European Union ===

Since the 1990s, the United Kingdom and other European countries have been working to solve [[workplace bullying]] since there is no legislation regulating cyberbullying. The pervasive nature of technology has made the act of bullying online much easier.<ref name=european-perspective>{{cite web|title=Bullying, Harassment and Stress in the Workplace — A European Perspective|url=http://www.internationallaborlaw.com/files/2013/01/Bullying-Harassment-and-Stress-in-the-workplace-A-European-Perspective.pdf|publisher=  Proskauer|access-date=November 18, 2015}}</ref> A 24-hour internet connection gives bullies a neverending opportunity to find and bully victims. Employers in the European Union have more legal responsibility to their employees than do those in other countries. Since employers do not have the ability to fire or hire an employee at will like in the United States, employers in Europe are held to a high standard in how their employees are treated.

In 2007, the European Union developed the Framework Agreement on Harassment and Violence at Work, a law that prevents bullying occurring in the workplace and holds employers accountable for providing fair working conditions.<ref name=european-perspective /> The law defines the responsibilities of an employer such as protecting his or her employees from bullies in a work environment and the psychological pain a victim faces from bullies during business hours. Lawyers pursuing cyberbullying cases use the Ordinance on Victimization at Work law, since there are not any laws specifically condemning cyberbullying.<ref name=european-perspective />

In 1993, Sweden was the first European Union country to have a law against cyberbullying. The Ordinance on Victimization at Work protected victims from "recurrent reprehensible or distinctly negative actions which are directed which are directed against individual employees in an offensive manner and can result in those employees being placed outside the workplace community".<ref name=european-perspective />

In 2002, France passed the Social Modernization Law, which added consequences to the French Labor Code for cyberbullying such as holding employers accountable for their involvement in harassment.<ref name="Viola Lloyd">{{cite web | url=https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/diversity_and_equality/french-law-prohibiting-bullying-in-the-workplace/ | title=FRENCH LAW PROHIBITING BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE |date=November 15, 2013 |access-date=December 17, 2018 | author= Viola Lloyd}}</ref> The legislation defines "moral harassment" as "repeated acts leading to a
deterioration of the working conditions and that are likely to harm the dignity, the physical or psychological heath of the victim or his professional career."<ref name=european-perspective />

The United Kingdom does not have anti-bullying legislation. However, it does have the Protection From Harassment Act, an anti-stalking law.<ref name=european-perspective /> U.K. courts have used this legislation in bullying cases.

[[File:Take A Stand Against Cyberbullying.png|thumb|This image portrays the support and awareness that many anti-cyberbullying campaigns have in some countries around the world.]]
The United States and some other countries have more extensive legislation on cyberbullying than the European Union. Cyberbullying incidents on social media are widespread and have increased drastically in number.<ref name=european-perspective /> However, the process of getting a claim against a bully is not an easy one because of the victim's need to provide sufficient evidence to prove the existence of bullying.

As of mid-2015, countries in the European Union like the United Kingdom are in the process of creating laws specially related to cyberbullying. Since the process takes time, the government is supporting school programs to promote internet safety with the help of teachers and parents.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statutory guidance – Keeping children safe in education|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2|website=GOV.UK|publisher=Department for Education|access-date=November 20, 2015}}</ref> This will allow the government to take the time it needs to create the cyberbullying laws while helping safeguard students from cyberbullying as much as possible.<ref>{{cite web|title=New guidelines to help industry promote internet safety|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-guidelines-to-help-industry-promote-internet-safety|website=GOV.UK|publisher=Department for Education & Tim Loughton|access-date=November 20, 2015}}</ref>

=== Research on preventive legislation ===
{{Original research section|date=May 2018}}

Researchers suggest that programs be put in place for prevention of cyberbullying. These programs would be incorporated into school curricula and would include online safety and instruction on how to use the Internet properly.<ref name= von>{{cite journal | last1 = Von Marees | first1 = N. | last2 = Petermann | first2 = F. | year = 2012 | title = Cyberbullying: An increasing challenge for schools | journal = School Psychology International | volume = 33 | issue = 5| page = 476 }}</ref> This could teach the victim proper methods of potentially avoiding the cyberbully, such as blocking messages or increasing the security of their computer.<ref name= von />

Even in a perfect world, no crime can be stopped fully. That is why it is suggested that within this prevention method, effective coping strategies should be introduced and adopted.<ref name=":11" /> People can adopt coping strategies to combat future cyberbullying. Coping strategies may include social support groups composed of victims of cyberbullying,<ref name= von /> which could allow students to share their stories, and remove the feeling of being alone.

Teachers should be involved in all prevention educational models, as they are essentially the "police" of the classroom.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|title=International Human and Private Rights Protection Association|url=http://ihprpa.org/bullying.php|website=ihprpa.org|access-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> Most cyberbullying often goes unreported as the victim feels nothing can be done to help in their current situation.<ref name= von /> However, if given the proper tools with preventive measures and more power in the classroom, teachers can be of assistance; if the parent, teacher, and victim can work together, solutions may be found.<ref name= von />

There have been many legislative attempts to facilitate the control of bullying and cyberbullying. Some existing legislation is incorrectly thought to be tied to bullying and cyberbullying (including terms such as "[[libel]]" and "[[slander]]").<ref name=":11" /> The problem is that the existing legislation does not directly apply to bullying, nor define it as its own criminal behavior.<ref>Smyth, S. M. (2010). Cybercrime in Canadian criminal law. (pp. 105–122). Toronto, ON: Carswell.</ref> Anti-cyberbullying advocates have even expressed concern about the broad scope of some of the bills attempted to be passed.<ref name= walt>{{cite journal | last1 = Walther | first1 = B | year = 2012 | title = Cyberbullying: Holding grownups liable for negligent entrustment | journal = Houston Law Review | volume = 49 | issue = 2| pages = 531–562 }}</ref>

In the United States, attempts have been made to pass legislation against cyberbullying. Few states attempted to pass broad sanctions in an effort to prohibit cyberbullying. Problems include how to define cyberbullying and cyberstalking, and, if charges are pressed, whether this violates the bully's freedom of speech.<ref name= walt /> B. Walther said that "Illinois is the only state to criminalize 'electronic communication(s) sent for the purpose of harassing another person' when the activity takes place outside a public school setting." This was criticized for infringement on freedom of speech.<ref name= walt />

Preventing a child from being cyberbullied is hard, but now they are working to form programs and laws to help stop the issue from getting worse than it already is. They have created movies such as ''[[Cyberbully (2011 film)|Cyberbully]]'' by Charles Biname and ''[[The DUFF|The Duff]]'' by Ari Sandel for teenagers to watch and see how cyberbullying can affect an individual. Children that are victims of this problem feel they can not go to an adult for help because they may feel embarrassed by the situation.<ref name=":10" /> Bullying online will not only hurt the teenager emotionally, but there is also a risk of the child hurting themselves physically as well; in 2017, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death among persons in the United States.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml|title=NIMH » Suicide|website=www.nimh.nih.gov|access-date=February 24, 2020}}</ref>

Being able to tell if a child is being hurt from this issue can be tough, but there are certain things that a child will do that should give a red flag that they are being bullied.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Helping Kids Deal With Bullies (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth|url=https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/bullies.html|website=kidshealth.org|access-date=May 28, 2020}}</ref> A cyberbully could have said nasty words to that child and the victim could be looking for compliments. If the victim is always online wondering when the bully will strike next that could also be a sign. Being an active parent in their children's lives will make a difference on whether their child is experiencing online bullying or not.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Oostdam |first1=Ron |last2=Hooge |first2=Edith |title=Making the difference with active parenting; forming educational partnerships between parents and schools |journal=European Journal of Psychology of Education |date=June 2013 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=337–351 |doi=10.1007/s10212-012-0117-6 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Also bringing police involved in the case will be a problem solver too.