MEGAN MEIER: Overweight and depressed 13-year-old Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., wanted to set up a MySpace account to make new friends. With her mom’s supervision, she did, and met a “hot” new boy in town, 16-year-old Josh Evans. Then things turned ugly.

Girl Meets Boy, MySpace Style

During the fall of 2006, Meier and Evans flirted via email for about six weeks. Although they never met in person, Evans told her she was “pretty” and “sexy.” Then Evans turned cruel, sending at least 12 derisive messages calling her “fat” and “a slut,” and that "the world would be a better place without her." (Los Angeles Times, 5/16/08)

Meier responded with a few choice words herself, got in a fight with her mother about it, and then committed suicide by hanging herself. When police investigated Meier’s death, they found there was no boy named Josh Evans.

Instead, a neighbor just four doors down from the Meiers, 49-year-old Lori Drew, allegedly created a phony MySpace account as “Josh Evans.” Drew, her 13-year-old daughter who had had a falling out with Meier, and one of Drew’s employees, Ashley Grills, took turns playing Josh. But local police and federal authorities couldn’t file charges against Drew since she hadn’t violated any state or federal law.

Cyber Bullies Beware

A grand jury in Los Angeles, however, did indict Drew May 15, using an unusual interpretation of federal computer hacking laws. For Drew to access MySpace's servers, she had to first sign up for a MySpace account. To do that, she needed to give her name, birth date, and agree to the site’s terms of use. News Corp owns MySpace, and its terms prohibit users from:

• Signing up for an account with false information
• Soliciting personal information from children under 18
• Using information collected from other people’s MySpace pages to "harass, abuse, or harm another person."

Drew allegedly used a fake name—Josh Evans—which violated MySpace's terms. Therefore, according to prosecutors she had no right to use MySpace’s service. Drew claims she did not create a false account on MySpace or send messages to Meier. Drew’s attorney, Dean Steward, plans to challenge the charges. If Drew is convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Harassment Laws Don’t Yet Include Internet Stalking

After the story broke, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt set up a task force to study the state’s laws about the new phenomenon of Internet stalking, or cyber bullying. Missouri has nothing on the books to handle this kind of harassment. State lawmakers passed a bill May 16 to update existing Missouri harassment laws to include new technology, such as communication through computers and text messaging through PDAs or cell phones.

Before this, Missouri’s law only pertained to harassing messages that were written or over the phone, which is why the police couldn’t charge Drew with a crime. The bill now goes to Blunt, who plans to sign it into law. "Social networking sites and technology have opened a new door for criminals and bullies to prey on their victims,” Blunt said. “These protections ensure that our laws now have the protections and penalties needed to safeguard Missourians from Internet harassment." (Los Angeles Times, 5/17/08)

Copyright © 2010 Informify

Sources

Missouri lawmakers pass bill against cyber-harassment after MySpace suicide case (Los Angeles Times, 5/17/08)

Routine conduct at risk with MySpace suicide case (Associated Press, 5/17/08)

L.A. files 'cyber bully' charges against Missouri mother in connection with girl's suicide (Los Angeles Times, 5/16/08)

A town fights back in MySpace suicide case (Los Angeles Times, 11/22/07)

Question for Readers:

Do you think Lori Drew was responsible for Megan Meier’s suicide, or were her parents, who knew she was depressed?