"Latest Weapon in a Bully's Arsenal"

Along with many things in life, we often find ourselves in a love-hate relationship with the internet. Its ability to provide constant communication and wide dissemination of information takes the bully and victim relationship to a new level. It has left the four walls of a cafeteria and has escalated through the internet. The bullying is constant now rather than just at school. With the use of email and websites, victims of bullying are now feeling trapped. This is truly a parent’s worst nightmare and even worse for the victims. To feel as though they no longer have the freedom to log onto the public sphere without being harassed or put down is horrible. What is more unfortunate is that because of our freedom of speech rights many internet providers refuse to take down hate-sites. David Knight is a prime example of this. David had a hate-site created about him by fellow classmates. The site contained immature, false comments about him. He would also receive cruel emails that left him in tears. His parents felt helpless as on multiple occasions they contacted the website service pleading with them to take it down but service providers refused. It became evident for them that the only means of getting what they wanted was to pay the website to take it down. It is sad that a situation like this strictly comes down to ethics. Is it morally ok to let this young boy suffer at the expense of allowing these young kids their right to freedom of speech? Another heartbreaking story about cyber-bullying has to do with young, Megan Meier. Here is her story:

It is unbelievable that deaths (like this) are occurring, yet cyber-bullying still hasn’t been taken as serious as it should. Authorities need to grasp how devastating it is for young kids to be humiliated. To these kids their reputation is everything. How do you feel about the question of ethics in cyber-bullying? Do you feel they should be allowed to keep the site up or do you think that David should have the right to have it taken down?