[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H4328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CYBERBULLYING

  (Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. 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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