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Yesterday, federal prosecutors indicted Lori Drew (the "MySpace Mom") on four counts, including "one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress on the girl" (CNN):
Lori Drew, of suburban St. Louis, allegedly helped create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist to convince 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.
A PDF of the indictment can be seen here.
Nordette covered this story on BlogHer a year ago, and the reaction to her post was in overwhelming agreement that Lori Drew should be treated as a criminal. When the news of the indictments broke yesterday, similar sentiments were expressed throughout the blogosphere. Bastion of Mediocrity writes:
One could imagine it was just a cruel joke gone wrong, that is until it came out that Drew knew about Meier’s history of depression! And the fact it was caused by a falling out between Meier and Drew’s daughter. And the fact that Drew has seemingly no remorse.
Death by 1000 Papercuts writes:
Drew puts the “D” in dysfunctional families as her meddling in her middle school daughter’s life is now linked to the suicide of a 13-year-old girl. Drew has shown absolutely no remorse instead she’s chosen to hide behind attorneys and cast blame on her 17-yr-old employee, Ashley Grills, even after Grills attempted suicide Drew continued to try to shift the blame to Ashley.
At the heart of this story, of course, is the tragedy of a troubled young girl who was harrassed and bullied to the point of suicide, by an adult who should've known way better.
But for watchers of technology, particularly social media, this case has raised some significant questions, even for those who find Lori Drew's behavior horrifying. Of particular note is the fact that the crime took place in Missouri, but it is being prosecuted in California, since that's where MySpace's servers are. Talk Left points out the following:
Any time you tell a fib to MySpace -- any time a little white lie appears on your profile concerning your age or weight -- you are violating your TOS agreement (see indictment paragraph 12(d)). If you then use that account to send a harassing message to someone, you've committed a federal crime ... at least in the view of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.
This charging decision exemplifies the growing federalization of local crime. Drew's conduct may have been reprehensible, but state prosecutors in Missouri could not conclude that it was criminal. Should a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles be entrusted with the power to punish a local incident that occurred in a different state?
MindOh! asks:
What if the boy’s identity hadn’t been a hoax? What if he was a kid who broke up with this girl in a particularly nasty way, and then Megan committed suicide? Anyone who has been through a particularly nasty breakup can relate to Megan’s feeling of despair, and often awful things are said at the end of a relationship. Would we be looking to hold the young man accountable? Would it be fair to? Harsh words would still be at the root of Megan’s choice to take her life, even if the speaker had been a teenage boy. How does the legal system set up fair punishment for cyberbullies, and should it?
Other questions being raised by this case include how much freedom parents should give their teens, particularly in the anything-goes environment of MySpace. What legally constitutes cyber-bullying? How should it be prosecuted, and by whom, and where? Most of all, this case sadly points out the dark side of social media. The technology we bloggers love can facilitate unspeakable evil.
As Anythings.org says,
I am not a believer in policing internet activity, but I am a believer in preventing harassment, especially the kind that causes severe emotional distress. Lori Drew is a 49 year-old woman who had absolutely no business harassing a young girl on the internet, regardless of her motivation. I’m glad to see that she’s been indicted, and I hope this case becomes an example for future internet harassment cases.
When cases like the Meier suicide don’t get prosecuted, even when we know the identity of the assailant, it sends a message to victims
