What Consequences do Cyber Bullies Face?

Bullying, in all of its manifestations, can be harmful to its victims' emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Bullying has evolved into a digital virtual nightmare instead of a face-to-face encounter in the modern tech age.

Primarily, teenagers and even young kids are increasingly being targeted by cyberbullies on social media through messaging and video chat applications. Due to the detrimental effects, it is causing there are cyberbullying legal consequences charged over such ill acts of injustice.

Some states in America have implemented harsh cyberbullying legal consequences to criminalize the act. Intentional infliction of mental torment, harassment, hate crimes, defamation and impersonation are just a few of the civil or criminal accusations that you can file against a bully.

Along with these charges, people accused might face fines of up to $2,500 and a year in prison in America. In Australia, it is an offence to use carriage service in a way that harasses or offends someone. Therefore if found guilty, you can be sentenced to a maximum of three years.

Moreover, in the United Kingdom, if the harassment is serious enough, there is a cyberbullying legal consequence. For instance, schools have a zero-tolerance policy for cyberbullying, and school sanctions follow the government-mandated policies to instil healthy mental well being in its new generation. Also, students get expelled on being caught bullying their mates on the internet

Law also has the power to banish or close your Internet Service Provider (ISP) account.

How does the Federal Law Address Cyberbullying?

Based on the situation, you can address cyberbullying under criminal law or civil law.

Civil Law

This area of law is concerned with property rights, personal dignity, and injury prevention. There are three ways to cyberbullying under civil law:

1. Defamation

When a bully damages someone's reputation by sharing false information about them, this is known as defamation. Slander is defamation that appears only temporarily, in the form of unrecorded speech or a live broadcast. However, libel is defamation that exists permanently, on a Web site per se.

In libel proceedings, the target can sue the individual who made the false assertion. If the case is successful, the individual who made the statement will be required to pay for the target damages in money.

2. Creating an unsafe environment by threatening violence

A school may discipline a student for engaging in online behaviour that makes it difficult for other pupils to learn in a secure setting. Even if cyberbullying occurs outside of school, the management can expel or suspend the student.

The target can sue a school or company if it does not undertake all it could to ensure a safe environment. Hence even if a claim isn't defamatory, propagating it would harm the workplace or schooling environment.

3. A person is liable for whatever repercussions that he or she could have reasonably predicted would occur.

If a cyberbully proposes that a depressed student or someone with anxiety at his workplace should kill themselves, the cyberbully will be held accountable if they kill themself. Because the cyberbully had reason to believe it was a likely outcome.

Criminal Law

This part of the law defines which actions are considered state offences. There are two methods to cyberbullying in criminal law:

1. Harassment

Harassment occurs when someone says or does something that makes someone fear for their own or others' safety. Furthermore, if the target feels intimidated, even if the culprit did not mean to frighten them, they might be charged with harassment. Criminal harassment has a maximum sentence of ten years in jail.

2. Defamatory libel

You could get into some major trouble or get up to five years in jail if you direct a libellous statement against a person of stature, repute, and authority that tarnishes their reputation.

3. Consent

In 2015, publishing intimate pictures without authorization was made a crime. This legislation entails posting and spreading images of nudity and displaying their genital organs, anal region, or chest or is engaging in explicit sexual behaviour. So if the person spreading these pictures is careless about whether or not consent to that conduct is given, he can be charged with a criminal offence.

Territorial and Provincial Laws

Various states and territories have passed legislation to address physical and digital bullying:

The state of Ontario says impersonating someone else on the internet, creating a blog or web page through someone else's identity, and communicating material to people or posting it on an electronic gadget that others can access is considered cyberbullying.

Laws like The amended Act and public disclosure of embarrassing private facts in Ontario prevent online bullying from being rampant. Quebec also has The Education Act and the Act Respecting Private Education.

Additionally, Alberta follows the revised Education Act which promotes students to report cyberbullying upon witnessing it, otherwise, they too would get charged with penalties including expulsion and suspension.

In 2013 and then in 2015 Nova Scotia also deemed cyberbullying as a violation of law and punishable.

New Brunswick also enforces the Education Act, which condemns misbehaviour including both online and offline bullying. Preventative strategies, such as the Parent School Support Committee, encourage respectful behaviour and prevent misconduct. In addition, it helps kids who engage in disrespectful behaviour conduct and even those who are afflicted by it.

Manitoba and the Northwest Territories have acts that address cyberbullying legal consequence to promote better mental health in its people.

Final Thoughts

Keep track of the evidence and report any incidents you can collect. Further, go to the law authorities perchance you or someone you know is going through cyberbullying. Moreover, urge your school to create and execute procedures for monitoring kids' online conduct for any red flags that could signal a desire to hurt themselves or others.

Besides, block any sites where the bully is harassing you or someone you know, and keep an eye on the internet usage of the sensitive people in your life. Listen, communicate, and protect all the people you care for or ones you feel need protection.

Live and let live with respect and dignity!