Myspace Hoax

Today I heard about the MySpace hoax that had led to the suicide of a 13-year-old girl. The hoax had been started by the mother of a girl who had been friends with the 13-year-old. At the time, even though the events led to the suicide of the young girl, police officials told the family that it did not fall under any crime. They did keep the case open, however, as they searched for evidence. Recently, the mother was found guilty of minor misdemeanor charges using a statute originally meant to combat hackers.

When I first heard about this, I was shocked. You would think in our society that parents would be much more responsible than to pick on and ridicule a 13-year-old girl. Though it technically didn’t actually fit under any crimes, I think what she did could fall under more than one tort. I think the mother’s actions could be seen as a type of negligence, a “failure to exercise reasonable care necessary to protect others from risk of harm.” (Essentials of Business Law, Liuzzo, pg 50) This may not be so cut and dry, however. Allegedly, the mother new the young girl had been suffering from depression and was at risk of committing suicide.

It was also stated that the mother had used the account to spread rumors and vilify the girl over the internet. I wonder, could this not be seen as a form of defamation? Libel is a form of defamation that is generally “the spreading of damaging statements in written form.” (Essentials of Business Law, Liuzzo, pg 45) I would think that if they had used that account to make false statements about the girl with the intent to sully her reputation using the written word (the internet) then they would be guilty of libel.

The misdemeanor the mother was found guilty was only in part because she failed to adhere to the Terms of Service of Myspace.com, which you much agree to when you sign up for the site, and are expected to follow, even if you choose not to actually read it. This might start bringing about more pushes for more regulation and laws for the internet. Though I’m against heavy regulation of content, perhaps some form or protection when it comes to defamation might be for the better.