May 17, 2008
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Myspace Suicide
Lori Drew has been charged in the Myspace Suicide Case and is accused of creating a fake Myspace account to bully a 13-year-old girl who went on to commit suicide.
The outcry against the mother for bullying the girl was great. It is alleged that she helped create an account and pretended to be a 16-year-old boy.
But the charges against the mother are a little unusual. She is charged on a computer hacking law because she used a “fake name” in setting up the account and therefore “illegally accessed protected computers.” The application of the law would allow a person to be tried of a crime if they set up an account with a “fake name or e-mail address.” Here is the link: Link
Do you think people should be held criminally accountable if they use a fake name or email address to start a myspace account?
Comments (99)
I think that’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a while, actually…
i think that depends on intent. if an adult “brainwashed” an impressionable minor into committing suicide whether using information systems or not shouldn’t they be held accountable?
go ahead and lock me up then
What’s a fake email, exactly?
hmm i don’t think so, since some people don’t want to divulge that information over the internet. unless they DO something illegal under that fake name, i don’t think they should be held accountable for anything.
Well, she should be charged with a little more than that…. Maybe they need to make a new law against cyber bullying
I suspect they are going for laws that will stick, since this is new ground for them. some interesting things legally are going to come out of this.
not that it’s the same, but when the FBI finally got al capone, it was for tax stuff. They KNEW there were tons of other illegal activities, but he always had lawyers that could get him out of things, so in the end, they went for what they knew would stick and get him jail and off the streets-even if it was sort of the long way around. I gather this is what they’re going to do to her to make sure she is punished some way and send a message so this doesn’t happen again.
No.
I’m confused by the story. Did the mother influence her daughter to commit suicide?
they’re all fake accounts anyhow. all of them. even here.
I’ve created profiles with false names and invalid email adresses to help retain anonyminity.
bah
if it’s to harm someone, YES!
@another_rebel_without_a_cause - You mean that you are NOT Johnny Cash?
Well it depends if they used the fake name to make a new identity to harass someone then they should be held accountable.
@seedsower - No no no, common misconception.
It’s Juanny Cash
oh yeah, we need to make multiple fake xangas a federal offense
@another_rebel_without_a_cause - As long as you can you sing.
No – they are totally trying to find a “legal” way to stretch this. She did harass the girl and should be accountable for that, but the whole fake email thing? I dunno.
another weird wrinkle is that Drew isn’t the one who said those final words that pushed the girl to suicide. some other girl did. weird and sad.
If it leads to this, hell yes.
OLD NEWS, Dan. This has been on the web for 3 days….your internet feng shui is fucked up today.
Some dating sites allow for legal charges if they find one of their customers is claiming to be ‘someone’ they are not. Might all depend on how the registration agreement is set up. Otherwise, I’m not sure that the laws as they are currently written are enough to prosecute Drew. I have a feeling she will walk away with nothing more than a slap on the hand.
Should someone be prosecuted for registering with Xanga under a fake name? Probably not. Most occurences would be too insignificant for a prosecutor to waste his/her time with.
I heard the story months ago, (or at least I thought it was this story). It was a horrible story. She shouldn’t be making myspaces or whatsoever just to hurt people. If it’s just to hide their identity to be anonymous rather than pretend to be a sixteen year old boy, then whatever, but to bully someone to suicide. please. she should know better.
The mother used the fake account to defraud the child. Granted, she wasnt trying to steal her money, but her confidence and trust. Its not that she created a fake user name, as all user names are fake. Its that she created an entity (account) in order to intentionally cause harm. Its always been illegal to pretend to be someone you are not in order to steal from people.
Absolutely not. Many people make fake usernames or use fake emails for a variety of reasons; I use a fake email for my MySpace account in order to avoid spam. The mother shouldn’t be charged with hacking, she should be charged with harassment, or even fraud.
@myawkwardlife - I agree.
It really depends. In this case, she did use a fake identity to harass a teenager. Maybe the law should be more specific to the effect of how the fake identity was used, but in this case I think that is the best we can do without a more precise law to give that girl justice for the irresponsibility of her ex-friend’s mother.
Instead of having bullshit classes in high school (every class except Math and English basically), we should have character building classes where you learn to grow a backbone, so kids stop killing themselves over miniscule things.
“They got my…my…order wrong…WHY DOES EVERYTHING ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME!?” ::sobs::
!boom!
Some kid at the local high school killed himself last year, he was a senior. Story is, his freshmen girlfriend broke up with him, so he hung himself. The End.
No. I don’t like using my real name on sites. I never know who’s looking at it. I think she should be charged for harassment. Using a fake name should only be a crime if it’s intent is to harass.
she shouldn’t be charged on the grounds of illegal computer…whatever. thats stupid. but she definitely should be charged in that girl’s suicide.
I think that technology has progressed faster then the laws to properly regulate have. For instance, if signing up for a website with a fake name becomes illegal, we’ll see a lot of change on the internet…unless there is a mass revolt.
The internet is an untamed place to live. The so-called Wild West doesn’t even hold a candle.
It’s a bit complex. On one hand, people don’t have to give out that information. On the other, if they use fake information and then do something illegal, how are you going to catch them? That is, if they’re completely covered the anonymity of the internet. To me, the most important question out of the whole tragedy is how the suicide may have been prevented, not what the mother will be charged with.
1. no person can make anybody commit suicide. suicide being to kill oneself. 2. i can vaguely understand the the fake name scenario but they may as well lock everybody up on myspace cause they are all fake anyway!
@pocoemme - Wow. What? Almost every class except Math and English is garbage? Are you really being serious? Chemistry, physics, biology, and foreign language classes are garbage? Hardly.
I think what they’re charging her for is ridiculous!
Should be charged with fraud. -_-
& should have life in prison! roarrrr
they are setting up more people for identity theft. it should depend upon what they do with that account.
unsure.
but the result of this bullying…..
I don’t know if the focus is even in the right place.
Why the hell is this mother bullying an elementary girl?!
I mean..
COME ON PEOPLE
DID YOU NOT SEE?!
A GIRL COMMITTED SUICIDE.
-_-*
It’s not about the fake e-mail or fake names.
dan, is you last name *really* theologian? like your facebook info above states… because if not ~ the law is coming for you!
For South Korean, I know that you need to provide your SS number when making an account.
I’m not sure if the SS number is required for ever internet account, but I remember coming across a couple sites requiring my number. Of course, they were legit sites that millions of people used.
I think that was a good way to protect other people from harassment, since the predator can always be tracked down. Unless, the predator stole someone’s number, then that would make the problem worse.
@IAmPositiveILostAnElectron - No, other classes are great, just not in high school. High schools don’t have enough funding to do all the things they could to get students interested. English and Math I mentioned only because they are mandatory, not because they’re better than any other class.
There’s too many horrible high school teachers too. Once in a while you get a great teacher, but usually just the “do your work. don’t have opinions” teacher in high school. I realized that a lot after I got out of high school and started my first semester in college. All my teachers this year really knew their stuff and did everything to keep the students interested.
High schools are horrible now. In the 50′s, kids may have learned, now they’re just babysitting services.
not if they openly admit it’s their account, or don’t create a persona. Drew created a fake identity and then harassed megan. she made josh into a believeable person, with interests and pictures and friends, the whole spew. she connived to gain megans trust, and then used her sway over megans feelings to avenge her daughter or something [I don't remember, I read this a long time ago and just know it was revenge].
I’m tired, so I can’t really explain myself well.
RYC
I think you deserve all the sweetness and adoration Dan. Thank you for all the help, attention, pieces of advice, and inspiration.
Er, can we say that there is always a probablility that anything on the internet is, by definition, fake? I mean, it is all fake, except credit cards. If they are going to charge her on that account, then why aren’t they charging 90% of internet users? They all have ‘fake’ accounts.
’nuff said….
Her intent was to harm (mentally) this girl. I can’t imagine the lesson her daughter was learning! I hope she goes to jail for a long, long time.
Oh, about the Federal law, it’s kinda dumb, unless your doing criminal things already. And at the last min, MO legislature passed a law for cyber bulling. I don’t know if the state can charge her now or not.
first of all my heart goes out to the girls family but now for the twist…
I am a little torn on this one.. but not much..
I believe the girls parents should have been monitoring every move their child made online.. as I do with my daughter. I think personally 13 is to young to chat… among other things.
On the other hand the grown woman that harrassed her in the manner she did obviously did so to get at that child and come on I do not see how she could not expect the girl to be distressed/hurt/scared by what she was saying afterall it was her intent. I know lots of 12 to 13 yr olds and unless the ones I know are really immature the woman had to plant ideas in her head to aid in the childs suicide. Making the adult in question at fault of course…
I believe that she needs to be held accountable but I have not decided whether the childs parents should or parents in similiar situations with hopefully less deadly outcomes be held to some sort of standard as well. Unfortunately for the family loosing the child they have paid the ultimate price but maybe if they had been monitoring their childs internet usage more closely it might have been avoided all together or had a different outcome…
@raizhafae - What a coincidence that would be, huh? Lol.
just setting up the account itself shouldn’t be criminal.. depends what you do with it
I’d be willing to bet that 3/4′s of the ‘already’ created Myspace accounts are created with false information of one kind or another. Easy to do. Yet, we don’t create accounts to talk to children….that’s some twisted, messed up stuff. Playing on a 13 year old’s emotions like that though….she does deserve some type of punishment.
If it’s use is meant to harass someone, then yea. Bullying online is
just as bad as bullying in real life, and it’s worse that she made the
girl like her fake identity and then broke her heart. This woman has
some serious issues cause what she did…well..for a woman her age, she
should have known better. How stupid and childish…and sad it ended
the way it did.
By that law, most of us here are guilty of a crime.
im guessing 1/3 of my space accounts are under fake names.i know alot of my friends set up fake accounts so that their wives do not know that they even have them which i do not agree with. so i think it should be on a case by case bases.
I don’t think it should be illegal to set up a fake name or fake e-mail (?), but a person should be held accountable if they commit a crime using that fake information.
No.
I use fake names sometimes.
Only if they hurt people! I don’t!
This case still boggles my mind. Why would an adult do that to a 13 year old? I think she should be charged with something, I’m just not sure murder is the right charge….
No, but if you are going abuse the internet by doing that..then yes. She got what she deserved. I have a fake email and people know me by my alias…I don’t want people knowing my personal information. Sure I can write my life story, but you will never see me write names.
@CaucasianChopstix - the daughter who killed herself was a neighbor of the woman who is charged. the mother’s daughter (yes, confusing) and the girl who died were friends and then got into a fight and were not friends and this was the payback. i think.
oh and my myspace says my income level is $250,000 and higher. am i in trouble?
I don’t think so..many people do..some of my friends too..as far as i know..it isnt a big deal right?
@BeautifulB_227 - Agreed.
Won’t you have to lock up most of myspace’s users then?
Don’t we already have a prison overcrowding problem?
It really is a stupid idea all around.
RYC: Hey Dan! Thanks for dropping by. Wow, I feel so proud whenever I see you on my site.. It just gives me a lot of energy and bliss. Uhm, if you’re gonna join a contest and you a need campaign manager (coz I honestly think that you don’t NEED one), then it would be MY pleausre to be a part of your campaigning team. Hahaha I love TheoCafe forever!
No.
If you’re being bullied, get off the internet.
Once again, what was so bad in this poor 13 year old girls mind that she saw the only way of coping with her pain was to end her life.
A wise youth pastor told me this…
“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem”
Goodness people, if it wasn’t for accidents, suicide would be the leading cause of death among teens.
I’d like my kids ( when they get old enoiugh) to only use a web community that gurantees no fake accounts, a communitay that can track down each and every user, with real name, age, adress – a communiity wioththe means to protect all this sensitive data. why? I hope it’s decrease flamiing, and bullying online.
Do you realize bullying online is a huge and real problem?! Any kid help line can tell ypou about it.
It’s about the “intent” for use and if it is used to obfuscate identity of written malice, or to harass or to deceive with express felonious intentions… yeah…accountability should be inforced.
I think the mother should just be stoned to death in her own driveway. Enough said.
@starchica0 - Hey, me too!! And, I’m a “Beer Taster”…haha!!
@PretendPrincess - do you have any generic looking cars parked outside your house? they may be watching you already! AHHHH!
you better delete that fake email account you set up to send all of your spam to.
Lol, I think that would put everyone in jail. I have a few”fake” accounts& emails mainly just because there are some sites I like to go on that if they know I was female, I’d never get any”work” done( the sites are full of wolves,lol, who seem to hit on any/all females that show up
)
Like I once said Internet is a best place to hide yet not a safe place. Nowasays, things are just going crazy with the internet. I have gotten in trouble before using Xanga sharing my anger online and since then I chose to be careful what I wrote for whom to see.
Anyways, in my opinion I don’t believe anyone online/internet is capable of murdering anyone, except for the person who made the choice to themselves.
I am not exactly sure what happened to that girl who killed herself but she made her own choice. Nobody tied the rope around her neck.
How is the internet any different than in person if a guy was pretending to like her and then turn against her? There are a lot of broken heart girls that ended their lives because of something that they didn’t get.
At least, I know what it is like, having gone through it myself when I was younger.
Internet, and the in-person is no difference. Yet the crime SHOULD be done to those who pushed the victim to the end of their rope.
Only thing is that I just hope not have to go through that with either of my darlings. That is just a nightmare for any mothers and fathers to go through as well as siblings. I am sorry for them.
Then again, I douno what I would do if I was in her shoes. In my mind, I KNOW to let God handle them, but in my heart I may want to do something about it.
It is hard when the moment comes. But it isn’t hard thinking about it before it happened. Strange how minds work.
Like you spend hours and classes on CPR but when one of your friends or family happened to need one, you draw a blank.
Totally lost.
No way. That’s so idiotic for the government to do! They’re constantly complaining about children getting harassed online by pedofiles, and so they’re now charging people with crime for making a fake name to protect themselves! Wtf?
i remember you wrote about this case earlier.
i don’t think someone should get charged for faking their identity but i definitely think that the mother should get like probation or something
Yeah, if it’s to harm someone. I’ve created fake emails because I made a facebook for my dog and a facebook for Wolfgang Mozart, lol. I don’t seem any harm in something like that. But if someone hurts someone, yes.
see, not seem.
I think she should still be held accountable for her part in the suicide, but the law used seems… erm… unusual =/ People use fake names and emails on the internet all the time. I would have thought there would be some other law that could be used to prosecute her.
But I’m not a lawyer Xp
@mkenyon719 - Right on target. If it’s done for malicious reasons …there should be accountability.
hello no. fakeusername? my real name can’t be goodbyedinner. LOL.
If it’s being used to harass someone then yeah. But if they’re not doing any harm then no way. That’s just dumb.
I think that if anyone creates a fake username for anything outher then to protect themselves or their computer they should go to jail.
No.
סוככים הם הסביבה האולטימטיבית לפעילות מחוץ לקירות הבית.
She should be charged more for influencing the girl to commit suicide…Isn’t there some cyber-bullying law or something? I know you can get kicked out of most school districts for that just like normal bullying. There should be some law, especially if the bullying leads to suicide (or murder).
that woman should be thrown in jail for the rest her life; but no, there shouldn’t be a law about making a false alias.
I don’t think so. I mean look what happened in this case
So sad…I think the mother went too far. -_-
All of my account names are fake… Why would they be real…?
Well, if you say false names, does that include pseudonyms, because I’m a pretty avid user of those. Or is it just pretending to be a separate person entirely?
yes
I don’t know if hacking is the right category for this… If caught for causing any kind of harm, I would put it more under the title of some kind of perjury. Anonymity intended for other reasons other than harming someone should not be prosecuted. Of course, determining that intent is the difficult part…
No, I think they are trying to stretch legal activities to illegal to attempt to compensate for the girl’s suicide death.
can we all say “Big Brother” and the internet gone as we knew it?
people use fake names all the time especially in the dating sites–it’s called privacy and keeping oneself safe.
what the mom did was immature and wrong, but they can’t make a blanket law on this. it’s new and needs a lot of rewriting.
whatever happened to parents being responsible for dependent minors? The world is a scary place. Parents are supposed to protect their children, and although there is a cultural lag where the internet is involved, it’s not an excuse for letting someone poison your child’s mind.
I don’t think that users should be allowed to register with fake names for the sake of records and such, but can’t they limit what’s on their profile anyway? Personally, it’s one reason I like facebook better- there’s more privacy and the people you allow to interact with you are generally at least acquaintances or affiliated by some common bond.
I’m sure many people do that. I set up a facebook account for my dog…should I be charged with a computer crime, too??
Seriously, I remember being that 13-year-old girl on the Internet, and with almost a non-existent social life outside of work and school. I had an eating disorder and other social problems as a result of not having a social life, but that’s another story.
It makes me angry that a GROWN PERSON (& A MOTHER) did this to another CHILD, because of her stupid own CHILD. How irresponsible.
I’ve been following this in the papers…and it makes me so sad and feel nothing but pity for that stupid woman and all of her cohorts.
I understand the fake names, fake e-mail account…but to say/do something that could destroy someone’s life, intentionally is above and beyond disrespect for another person’s life and well-being. Also, fake e-mails and names are required to catch predators–you know, the pedophiles and el creepos of cyberspace! I think people who use fake names and fake e-mails for illegal/illicit uses should be prosecuted, but this kind of carries over into free speech/privacy acts. Grey matters.
I just feel that this mother should carry some of the blame and responsibility in leading to this girl’s death.
I think that woman deserves..horrible things done to her and that’s all I’m going to say.
She’s an adult. She should know better. It doesn’t take much to twist and bend a teenager’s mind.
No. People use fake names for privacy.
Not if they are a fake themselves.