Can This Be Considered Cyberbullying?

[MysticWriter]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Mexico

I belong to a social network site. In the past, members have created blogs on blogger where they take screen shots of member posts and posted selfies and have created blogs posts. There is currently a list blog up, with such topics as rude & hateful, annoying & irritating, offensive. On this blog, people were encouraged to make member recommendation, and were later added to a list. There is another blog up that someone has created, that is a list of selfies that have been posted in selfie posts. Can this be considered cyberbullying and what can be done about it?

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Mexico

I belong to a social network site. In the past, members have created blogs on blogger where they take screen shots of member posts and posted selfies and have created blogs posts. There is currently a list blog up, with such topics as rude & hateful, annoying & irritating, offensive. On this blog, people were encouraged to make member recommendation, and were later added to a list. There is another blog up that someone has created, that is a list of selfies that have been posted in selfie posts. Can this be considered cyberbullying and what can be done about it?

GOMI does just that, and evidently without fear of action.

When you use a forum or social network site, it does put you at risk of being in the spotlight yourself - that's just the nature of the beast. With that said I do think such forums often qualify as being inherently cyberbullying. What to do about it? That's a much different question.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Mexico

I belong to a social network site. In the past, members have created blogs on blogger where they take screen shots of member posts and posted selfies and have created blogs posts. There is currently a list blog up, with such topics as rude & hateful, annoying & irritating, offensive. On this blog, people were encouraged to make member recommendation, and were later added to a list. There is another blog up that someone has created, that is a list of selfies that have been posted in selfie posts. Can this be considered cyberbullying and what can be done about it?

Are the members of this social network site elementary, middle or high school age children? If not, then what is posted is unlikely to fall under any state's cyberbullying laws.

Depending on what has been posted, however, a poster could find any "hateful" or "offensive" speech violates a law or two. If anything false is created online about an identified or identifiable person, then defamation laws may come into play. Most states also have cyberharassment laws.

It really depends on exactly what has been posted and the reaction of the community to the material.

What can be done about it? Request of the site that the offensive material be removed? Find a different social network site to frequent and leave the offensive site to those who get their kicks being rude and annoying and irritating?

Here is a link to a US Department of Health & Human Services website with information on New Mexico's Anti-Bullying laws and policies:
http://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/new-mexico.html

And here is a link to the National Conference of State Legislatures website with state cyberstalking and cyberharassment laws:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/teleco...y/cyberstalking-and-cyberharassment-laws.aspx