Another kick in the ass for the right to free speech.

[Samuel346]

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_MySpace_Suicide_Case_Leads_To_Tougher_Laws_17 707.html


While I sympathize and all, you can't honestly think that saying something over the internet is going to cause someone to kill herself.

It's a ridiculous notion.


And in all seriousness, if saying such a thing as "this world would be better without you" would make someone kill themselves, then they're already gonna do it.

Whether it's implied in real life or on the internet.


Look folks, you can blame every drinker for Drunk driving accidents, you can blame every idiot who runs their mouth over the internet for someone committing suicide, you can generalize all you want, but it's still wrong.

It's racism if it's done to other race, sexist if done to another gender, so why is it okay to do it to groups we don't like though?

[rockerbabyy]

obviously the girl had problems to begin with. but it wasnt just as simple as "the world would be a better place without you". that woman pretended to be a 16 year old guy and got really close to that girl over a few months time before that comment.

[IslandBoy91]

This just further proves my point that MySpace is the root of all evil...

[Samuel346]

obviously the girl had problems to begin with. but it wasnt just as simple as "the world would be a better place without you". that woman pretended to be a 16 year old guy and got really close to that girl over a few months time before that comment.

Do you think that's really going to matter in the court of law the next time this happens and someone leaves a comment like "good, go die"?

[rockerbabyy]

Do you think that's really going to matter in the court of law the next time this happens and someone leaves a comment like "good, go die"?

leaving a comment like that is different from pretending to be someone else and becoming someones friend just to be malicious and hurt them later.

[Mikey803]

I have hated MySpace since its creation...

[AndCitruze]

myspace.... my ex figured out my password before and she was a woman scorned. you can see where this is going

so yeah she deleted my myspace. i kinda thank her since ive always been too lazy to make a new one


but man.... the word "death" seems to be coming up a lot today.... :(

[Hungryfreak]

Actually, I find Myspace good for some things. The one thing I often use it for is sampling bands, since you can find just about any band on myspace.

In this case, the law can be constitutionally made, seeing as freedom of speech is limited in cases of clear and present danger.

[AndCitruze]

Actually, I find Myspace good for some things. The one thing I often use it for is sampling bands, since you can find just about any band on myspace.

yeah thats true. ive probably checked out the band profiles more than i have normal ones though

[topperharley]

"Under the current state laws, the maximum possible penalty that Lori Drew can receive is of twenty years in prison."

Well gee, sounds like we need to gut the Constitution some more then... :rolleyes:

Not sure what the proposed laws are, as it doesn't sound as though they've been passed, or even drafted, yet, but I can't see them surviving a constitutional challenge. There are exceptions to freedom of speech, but the Supremes have tended to keep them rather narrow.

samuel and rockerbabyy both have valid points - pretending to be someone else and befriending another person over the course of a month, then turning against them and making a comment like "the world would be better off without you" is a different animal than making a comment like "**** off and die" to a random forum person, but if a person commits suicide, that person is already mentally and emotionally unstable, so it's hard to make a causal connection between comments made online and the suicide

^ holy runon sentence, Batman! :eek:

[whofan]

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_MySpace_Suicide_Case_Leads_To_Tougher_Laws_17 707.html


While I sympathize and all, you can't honestly think that saying something over the internet is going to cause someone to kill herself.

It's a ridiculous notion.


And in all seriousness, if saying such a thing as "this world would be better without you" would make someone kill themselves, then they're already gonna do it.

Whether it's implied in real life or on the internet.


Look folks, you can blame every drinker for Drunk driving accidents, you can blame every idiot who runs their mouth over the internet for someone committing suicide, you can generalize all you want, but it's still wrong.

It's racism if it's done to other race, sexist if done to another gender, so why is it okay to do it to groups we don't like though?
Actually, I am in full agreeance with the new laws here. Harassment in any way shape or form is completely unacceptable. This is NOT free speech, free speech has it's limitations. This is the same kind of thing as calling somebody constantly and saying the exact same things.

What would the police do if I started calling you on a daily basis and saying a tonne of hurtful things about you? They'd most certainly come and arrest me. The anonimity of the Internet should not be used as a shield to hide behind. If it is possible for the authorities to find people who allegedely committ crimes like harrasment then I'm all for it.

While stuff being said on the internet may not seem like a big deal to you and I, it is to some people who perceive it as being as real as a spoken message from a friend. If this person was already on the edge of depression and then suddenly had this seemingly great guy come into her life only to turn on her and start saying hateful things about her then it may have been just enough for her to turn to suicide.

Don't think that just because you're immune to things being said about you online that everyone else is as well.

That's not to say that we should impose insanely harsh rules on speech, but there do have to be limits and nothing I can see in that article imposes undue limits on free speech. It's just an extension into the modern era of the law that has been around for ages in relation to harrasment and libel.