A common response when people feel powerless and outraged is: "There ought to be a law."
That's what it sounds like as the Canadian Teacher's Federation calls for a new law on cyber-bullying. There's no doubt this is a problem, one that the Daily News reported on in 2002 when police traced 100 complaints from students back to Internet chat rooms.
It seems nothing has improved in the past six years. As social networking sites have grown since that time, the problem has grown as well. What's clear is that this has not become such a serious problem that new legislation is required. And the question has to be asked whether the heavy hammer of the law would be the best solution to a problem transferred into the virtual world after generations of bullying in the real world. It's not that generations of schoolyard bullying was right, but there was no call then for a specific law against bullying in school.
One of the points made by the CTF is that young people go online and anonymously send nasty and sometimes threatening messages. The impact can be pretty devastating. The cowardice that went with the old style schoolyard bully is that much more difficult to confront. It's amorphous and sinister. It didn't take much for the schoolyard bully to stop. One confrontation -- unless he was a psychopath -- and that was that.
What's of interest here is the apparent dependence young people have developed on the computer to socialize. Those of older generations without teenagers should know that everything in their world starts electronically, either by text message or instant message or even e-mail -- now outdated among those with the latest in high technology. A recent study even found that young women in the initial stages of romance prefer to flirt by texting. And even breaking up is now being done by texting.
Somewhere in that milieu is cyber-bullying, transferring aggression into bytes as well as romance. What is happening here isn't so much about law as a revolution in social convention. So far the main illegality brought to us by the Internet is fraud. We have also begun to apply existing libel laws. But to try to create a law to govern a behaviour for which there was either no law before. or the law stepped in when it became obviously illegal, is questionable. That's how it should be in this instance. As in other areas, existing laws can be applied.
If cyber-bullying includes threats as defined in the Criminal Code, then a person can be charged. There is no reason that just because it is happening online that a whole new law ought to be contemplated. Similarly, if the conduct is harassing there are existing laws. As in any case there are judgment calls that are up to parents, provided they become aware of the bullying. While the CTF points out that a kid can be bullied in their room without parents even knowing, it goes without saying that many kids were bullied at school who never told their parents.
But it has to be asked why a parent would give such online freedom to their son or daughter. Limiting online access or using programs that will monitor use are probably prudent for parents. Perhaps instead of another law, which likely wouldn't work regardless, the greater responsibility ought to be on parents.
Such a law would present serious challenges in regard to definition and enforcement. What may be seen by some as bullying may be to others innocuous though inappropriate banter. There are policies open to schools to handle such incidents.
There is just not the evidence that the impact of this conduct is such that a new law is required. Who would enforce it? Do police have the time to investigate kids scrapping with each other online when parents and schools ought to be able to handle the problem?
Editorial Opinion
14 July 2008
