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An interesting case, where a woman, Lori Drew, cyber bullied a 13 year old girl. The woman pretended to be a 16 year old boy on MySpace and sent nasty messages to the girl. The girl eventually committed suicide.
The interesting part is that the woman was charged with accessing a computer without authorization because she violated MySpace's terms of service, which prohibits falsifying information to register an account. The prosecutors said that by breaking the TOS, Lori was in effect accessing MySpace computers without authorization.
What do you think of the precedent it sets? I had the impression that website TOS were not enforceable/legally binding, similar to how courts ruled many EULAs were not binding.
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Misdemeanor conviction in MySpace hoax trial
By GREG RISLING Associated Press Writer
Nov 26th, 2008 | LOS ANGELES -- A jury has convicted a Missouri mother of lesser, misdemeanor crimes in the MySpace cyber-bullying case linked to a 13-year-old girl's suicide.
The Los Angeles federal court jury on Wednesday rejected felony charges of accessing a computer without authorization to inflict emotional distress on young Megan Meier.
However, the jury found defendant Lori Drew guilty of three counts of the lesser offense of accessing a computer without authorization.
The jurors could not reach a verdict on a conspiracy count.
Prosecutors said Drew violated the MySpace terms of service by conspiring with her young daughter and a business assistant to create a fictitious profile of a teen boy on the MySpace social networking site to harass Megan.
Megan, who had been treated for depression, hanged herself in 2006 after receiving a message saying the world would be better without her.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A jury has convicted a Missouri mother of lesser, misdemeanor crimes in the MySpace cyber-bullying case linked to a 13-year-old girl's suicide.
The Los Angeles federal court jury on Wednesday rejected felony charges of accessing a computer without authorization to inflict emotional distress on young Megan Meier.
However, the jury found defendant Lori Drew guilty of three counts of the lesser offense of accessing a computer without authorization.
The jurors could not reach a verdict on a conspiracy count.
Prosecutors said Drew violated the MySpace terms of service by conspiring with her young daughter and a business assistant to create a fictitious profile of a teen boy on the MySpace social networking site to harass Megan.
Megan, who had been treated for depression, hanged herself in 2006 after receiving a message saying the world would be better without her.
An interesting case, where a woman, Lori Drew, cyber bullied a 13 year old girl. The woman pretended to be a 16 year old boy on MySpace and sent nasty messages to the girl. The girl eventually committed suicide.
The interesting part is that the woman was charged with accessing a computer without authorization because she violated MySpace's terms of service, which prohibits falsifying information to register an account. The prosecutors said that by breaking the TOS, Lori was in effect accessing MySpace computers without authorization.
What do you think of the precedent it sets? I had the impression that website TOS were not enforceable/legally binding, similar to how courts ruled many EULAs were not binding.
------------------------------------------------------
Misdemeanor conviction in MySpace hoax trial
By GREG RISLING Associated Press Writer
Nov 26th, 2008 | LOS ANGELES -- A jury has convicted a Missouri mother of lesser, misdemeanor crimes in the MySpace cyber-bullying case linked to a 13-year-old girl's suicide.
The Los Angeles federal court jury on Wednesday rejected felony charges of accessing a computer without authorization to inflict emotional distress on young Megan Meier.
However, the jury found defendant Lori Drew guilty of three counts of the lesser offense of accessing a computer without authorization.
The jurors could not reach a verdict on a conspiracy count.
Prosecutors said Drew violated the MySpace terms of service by conspiring with her young daughter and a business assistant to create a fictitious profile of a teen boy on the MySpace social networking site to harass Megan.
Megan, who had been treated for depression, hanged herself in 2006 after receiving a message saying the world would be better without her.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A jury has convicted a Missouri mother of lesser, misdemeanor crimes in the MySpace cyber-bullying case linked to a 13-year-old girl's suicide.
The Los Angeles federal court jury on Wednesday rejected felony charges of accessing a computer without authorization to inflict emotional distress on young Megan Meier.
However, the jury found defendant Lori Drew guilty of three counts of the lesser offense of accessing a computer without authorization.
The jurors could not reach a verdict on a conspiracy count.
Prosecutors said Drew violated the MySpace terms of service by conspiring with her young daughter and a business assistant to create a fictitious profile of a teen boy on the MySpace social networking site to harass Megan.
Megan, who had been treated for depression, hanged herself in 2006 after receiving a message saying the world would be better without her.
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