Cyberbullies Pros

P4, LA
Every day, millions of people surf the web for educational and entertainment purposes. Now that more and more people are using technology on a daily basis, there has been much discussion on whether or not cyberbullies should be prosecuted for writing vulgar or inappropriate messages towards other people. Cyberbullies should not be prosecuted for the statements they make on social media. Prosecuting cyberbullies would infringe on American’s first amendment, squander taxes, and discourage citizen’s responsibility. Although prosecuting cyberbullies may be beneficial, this proposal would have many negative consequences.
Initially, cyberbullies should not be prosecuted due to the fact that it would infringe upon the first amendment granting

citizens free speech. In the article “Sacrificing The First Amendment To Catch ‘Cyberbullies’” Kirk Sigmon said, “Like it or not, implicit within the text of the First Amendment is the right to be as cruel as one wants, right up to the point of libel or slander.” What Sigmon is portraying is that anyone has the right to say whatever he or she wants to say even up to the point where it is false or is threating. Hurting someone’s feelings in real life has never been considered a criminal act and saying it over social media should be treated no differently. Although prosecuting cyberbullies may reduce the number of offenders, this act would violate against people’s free speech. Clearly, cyberbullies should not be prosecuted due to their free speech.
Furthermore, prosecuting cyberbullies would squander American taxes and consume valuable time in court houses. According to “The Ophelia Project”, 20% of youth ages ranging from 11-18 have been a victim of cyberbullying. Thus proving, more time would be needed for the use of courthouses in order to carry out these cyberbullying cases. The American people would have to pay more tax money towards the utilization of these courts and thus waste money that could be spent on more significant projects and helping those in need. These prosecutions would also take up lawyer’s time and effort when they could be spending their time on more important clients. While this may lower the number of cyberbullies, having each victim and offender being brought to court would waste American’s tax money. Indeed, cyber offenders should not be prosecuted because it would waste American taxes and valuable court time.