Remember the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”?
That’s not the case when it comes to the Web because of developments in Internet law.
Bad facts make bad law. Here’s what happened…
A college student did something in very poor taste with his web cam. His embarrassed roommate committed suicide. Instead of a civil lawsuit against the student (or a swift kick in the @ss), he was arrested, prosecuted for a “hate crime,” and will spend years in prison.
Although most states have anti-bullying laws, the response to the webcam incident is for at least five states to push for tougher “cyber bullying” laws. These Internet laws are often very vague and enforced inconsistently.
Be careful what you write online.
And if you own a site or blog that permits comments, these cyber bullying laws are painting a target on you.
It only takes one idiot posting the wrong thing to put you in the cross-hairs for assisting a cyber bully.
