Cyber lawyers fall out over MySpace suicide
/v3-uk/news/1946725/cyber-lawyers-fall-myspace-suicide
06 Aug 2008, Andrew Charlesworth , V3
A posse of cyber freedom groups and law professors have waded into the case of Lori Drew, the US woman charged over the My-Space promoted suicide of a teenager.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology, Public Citizen and the legal egg-heads have filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief. They argue that if Drew is convicted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), usually used to pursue hackers, the case will have serious ramifications for everyone using the internet.
Drew pleaded not guilty when she was charged in May.
The suicide Drew is alleged to have triggered occurred in 2006. Her daughter fell out with a neighbour, 13-year old Megan Meier. By way of revenge, Drew signed up for MySpace in the name of Josh Evans, a fictitious 16-year old boy who then befriended Meier.
Evans then fell out with Meier, slagged her off publicly online and, after a row with her mother over MySpace, Meier hanged herself.
Drew was charged under the CFAA because the Feds said she had fraudulently obtained access to the MySpace servers by not signing up according to MySpace terms and conditions of service.
The Amicus Curiae band protest that breaking MySpace Ts & Cs is an unusually broad interpretation of the CFAA and could be applied, for example, to a married person who signs up for dating site Match.com, where the Ts & Cs categorically state single only.
While the group sympathises with the desire to bring Drew to account for Meier’s suicide, they say the CFAA is not the legal vehicle with which to bring charges.
Do you agree?
i would think that the mother had no idea what would happen
she is a mother protecting her daughter she has to live with what happened that coiuld not be easy She needs forgiveness
Posted by Harriet Smith, 09 Aug 2008
Drew IS responsible
How mature and malicious is it for a 47 year old woman to trick a 13 yr old girl into believing that a hunk had fallen in love with her? Then have the ficticious hunk tell her he doesn't like her anymore then go so far as to say "the world would be better off with out you"! She had no business getting involved. She has to know she is partially responsible. Oh and then have the same ficticious boy taunt her? She responded and then Drew KNEW what she had done. The girl said"a boy like you is worth dying for!" Then the girl kills herself? It may not have been her intent for Megan to die, but as a direct result of what this woman did, a 13 year old girl IS dead. At the least it should be involuntary manslaughter. But nothing at all? I hope Drew NEVER has a peaceful nights rest as long as she lives. I hope she has asked God to forgive her too! What comes around goes around.
Posted by Monica, 03 Jul 2009