[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1966 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1966

 To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2009

   Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California (for herself, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. 
  Yarmuth, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. 
  Braley of Iowa, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hare, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Clay, Mr. 
Sarbanes, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Courtney, and Mr. Kirk) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Four out of five of United States children aged 2 to 17 
        live in a home where either they or their parents access the 
        Internet.
            (2) Youth who create Internet content and use social 
        networking sites are more likely to be targets of 
        cyberbullying.
            (3) Electronic communications provide anonymity to the 
        perpetrator and the potential for widespread public 
        distribution, potentially making them severely dangerous and 
        cruel to youth.
            (4) Online victimizations are associated with emotional 
        distress and other psychological problems, including 
        depression.
            (5) Cyberbullying can cause psychological harm, including 
        depression; negatively impact academic performance, safety, and 
        the well-being of children in school; force children to change 
        schools; and in some cases lead to extreme violent behavior, 
        including murder and suicide.
            (6) Sixty percent of mental health professionals who 
        responded to the Survey of Internet Mental Health Issues report 
        having treated at least one patient with a problematic Internet 
        experience in the previous five years; 54 percent of these 
        clients were 18 years of age or younger.

SEC. 3. CYBERBULLYING.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 41 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 881. Cyberbullying
    ``(a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any 
communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause 
substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to 
support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under 
this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
    ``(b) As used in this section--
            ``(1) the term `communication' means the electronic 
        transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of 
        information of the user's choosing, without change in the form 
        or content of the information as sent and received; and
            ``(2) the term `electronic means' means any equipment 
        dependent on electrical power to access an information service, 
        including email, instant messaging, blogs, websites, 
        telephones, and text messages.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 41 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item:

``881. Cyberbullying.''.
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