Cyberbullying

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address a growing national trend, cyberbullying.

Many of us know of the dangers our kids already face online: predators, fraud, and sexually explicit material. Now children are also facing online bullying. When a young person is ridiculed or threatened online, it can have severe and even tragic effects.

A perfect case in point is Megan Meier, a St. Louis teenager who made friends with a young man named Josh online. The friendship soon deteriorated, with Josh telling Megan, "The world would be better off without you.'' Megan Meier committed suicide.

Six weeks after Megan's death came the horrifying news that Josh was actually just an alias created by the mother of one of Megan's former friends. At the time of Megan's death, cyberbullying was not considered a crime. The adult responsible for the hoax went unpunished. Recently, Federal charges were filed, but the prosecutor had to be creative because Federal law is inadequate. That is wrong.

Congress must act soon to send a clear message: Online actions have offline consequences.

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