Cyberbullying is now a crime in New Zealand

There is no denying that cyberbullying is a huge problem that is most commonly found in schools with younger children that have access to the internet. New Zealand agrees that Cyberbullying should be stopped, as they have just passed a new law that prohibits sending messages that are racist, sexist and/or critical to someone's religion, sexuality or disability intended to cause "serious emotional distress." If the person is found guilty of cyberbullying, they could face two years in jail. However, if someone is caught cyberbullying that leads to a suicide, they will face up to 3 years in prison.

The New Zealand government is also setting up a digital agency that will deal with complaints that Twitter and Facebook have failed to handle this kind of situation. The social media websites would have to delete the messages within 48 hours of discovery.

It is nice to see that a county is taking a charge to hopefully stop the cyberbullying trend, although there may be some limitations that have to deal with freedom of speech and the overarching problem of criminalizing children.

Via: Engadget

Source: New Zealand Parliament