Cyberstalking Regulation

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Online technologies enable the opportunity for online users to monitor, pursue or harass other users. The repeated pursuit of an individual online is referred to the act of cyberstalking. Cyberstalking refers to a pattern of threating or malicious behavior causing fear (NSL). Statutes and legal principles invoked to combat cyberstalking in the United States of America include American privacy law, right to privacy, defamation. A case including Sheehan and Boyer are the cornerstone to the issue of cyberstalking. Even with these statutes and legal principles in place, issues arise to effectively combat cyberstalking. Therefore private industry self-regulation is preferable to government regulation. While the government can set a standard for a jurisdiction, private industry including companies such as the social network sites Facebook and Twitter have direct control over how users can interact. Therefore they have the opportunity to successful combat cyberstalking in their own environment. Federal law imposes a $1,000 fine or five years imprisonment for anyone transmitting any threat to kidnap or injure someone (Darrell, 134). The real problem is that state cyberstalking laws differ in regards to definitions, protections, and penalties. These issues include who the harassment is directed at, the type of communication …show more content…

Self-regulation preserves independence and protects government interference. Private industry self-regulation is preferable to government regulation. Private industry is better equipped to respond to cyberstalking as they can control what users are able to do. With too many barriers of properly prosecuting cyberstalkers, private industry should implement regulations that counteract these actions from taking

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