4.2 – 10/3/2011
Social Networking,
Cyberbullying, & Cyberstalking
What should the jurisdiction be?
“Unrestrained behavior resulting from a lessening or loss of
inhibitions or a disregard of cultural constraints.”
 Don’t
forget that your profile and MySpace
forums are public spaces.
 People aren't always who they say they are.
 Harassment, hate speech and inappropriate
content should be reported.
 Don't post anything that would embarrass
you later.
 Don't say you're over 18 if you're not. Don't
say you're younger than 18 if you're not.
Never share your password with anyone.
Adjust your privacy settings to match your level of
comfort, and review them often.
 Be cautious about posting and sharing personal
information…
 Report users and content that violate our Statement
of Rights and Responsibilities.
 Block and report anyone that sends you unwanted or
inappropriate communications.
 Remember that while Facebook has always been
based on a real name culture, and using fake names
is a violation of our Statement of Rights and
Responsibilities, people are not always who they say
they are.


 Account
Hijacking
 Spam
 Phishing
 Malware
 Child
Exploitation
 Burglary
 Cyberbullying
 Cyberstalking
 Too Much Information!!
 Personal Information
• Real name
• Address
• Phone number
• Family members
 Work Information
• Employer
• Job position
 Personal Schedule
• Work schedule
• Vacations
 Open
Source information
 “Evidence Hub”
 Information about criminal acts
 Evidence of actions by known criminals
 Finding suspects
 MySpace Predator Caught by Code http://www.wired.com/science/discoveri
es/news/2006/10/71948?currentPage=all
“The use of e-mail, instant messaging,
chat rooms, pagers, cell phones, or other
forms of information technology to
deliberately harass, threaten, or
intimidate someone.”
 Used
 May
be anonymous
 Bully
 Can
more & more by children & teens
may be unknown to victim
reach a larger audience
 Invades
the victim’s home
• No retreat from bully
 Text
messages
 Pictures or videos of someone being bullied
 Private pictures made public
 Cell phone calls
 E-mail
 Chat rooms
 Instant messaging
 Websites
 Online threats
 Creating fake profiles
 Computer
fraud
 Sexual harassment / cyber harassment
 Child pornography
 Physical harm / suicide
 Some states have cyberbullying laws
• http://www.cyberbullyalert.com/blog/category/cyb
er-bullying-law/
 Linda
Sanchez (D, CA) – has twice (08 & 09)
introduced Megan Meyer Cyberbullying
Prevention Act
“A pattern of repeated and unwanted attention,
harassment, contact, or any other course of
conduct directed at a specific person that would
cause a reasonable person to feel fear done via
electronic means.”
 Control
of victim’s behavior
 Revenge
 Resume
a previous relationship
 All states have laws regarding stalking
• California 1st in 1990
 Six states have cyberstalking laws
• Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,
Rhode Island, and Washington
 Other
states use stalking laws and
harassment laws
 Connecticut stalking laws http://www.ncvc.org/SRC/main.aspx?dbI
D=DB_Connecticut195
 Zona and colleagues (1993) – 3 types
• Simple Obsessional
• Erotomania
• Love Obsessional
 (Mullen, Pathe, Purcell, and Stuart, 1999)
types based on motivation & context
•
•
•
•
•
The Rejected
The Intimacy Seeker
The Incompetent
The Resentful
The Predatory
–5
A
prior relationship exists between the
victim and the stalker which includes the
following:
• Acquaintance, neighbor, customer, professional
relationship, dating, and lover
 The stalking behavior begins after either:
• The relationship has gone “sour”
• The offending individual perceives some
mistreatment
 The
stalker begins a campaign either to
rectify the schism, or to seek some type of
retribution



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Based on the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, 4th ed.
The central theme of the delusion is that another person is in
love with the individual
The delusion often concerns idealized romantic love and
spiritual union rather than sexual attraction — “a perfect
match”
The object of affection is usually of a higher status and can
be a complete stranger
Efforts to contact the victim are common, but the stalker may
keep the delusion a secret
Males, seen most often in forensic samples, come into
contact with the law during misguided pursuits to “rescue”
the individual from some imagined danger.
Females are seen most often in clinical samples

Similar to the erotomanic individuals:
• The victim is almost always known through the media.
• The delusion that the victim loves them may also be held
The erotomanic delusion is but one of several
delusions and psychiatric symptoms — this
individual has a primary psychiatric diagnosis
 These individuals may be obsessed in their love,
without having the belief that the target is in love
with them
 A campaign is begun to make his/her existence
known to the victim

*
As a result of a relationship dissolution (i.e.
estrangement, disruptions, break-ups) from
an ex-partner (but inclusive of a parent,
friend, or work associate) this type of stalker
can be observed desiring a mixture of
reconciliation and revenge.
 This individual often experiences feelings
of loss, frustration, anger, jealousy,
malevolence, and depression.
 The Simple Obsessional subtype given
previously closely approximates this type of
stalker.
 These
stalkers pursue an intimate
relationship with an individual perceived as
their true love, but their attentions are not
wanted by the object of their affection.
 The type of stalkers who fall into this
category often have a delusional disorder
(i.e. erotomania). Those who represent
"intimacy seekers" may suffer from other
disorders (i.e. schizophrenia, mania) or hold
morbid infatuations.
 Erotomania and Love Obsessional best
represent this category.


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
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These intellectually limited and socially incompetent
individuals desire intimacy, but the object of their affection
does not reciprocate these feelings.
They often lack sufficient skills in courting rituals.
They may also display a sense of entitlement: believing they
deserve a partner, but lack the ability or desire to engage in
subdued, preliminary interpersonal relations.
Another aspect of these stalkers is that they may have had
previous stalking victims.
Unlike the intimacy seekers, those in the incompetent
category do not view the victim as having unique qualities;
they are not infatuated with the victim -- only attracted, and
do not assert that the affection is mutual.
 The
goal of this stalker is to frighten and
distress the victim.
 These
stalkers may also experience
feelings of injustice and desire revenge.
 The
power and control that comes from
stalking a victim gives these stalkers a great
deal of enjoyment.
 The stalker often strives to learn more about
the victim.
 The stalker may even mentally rehearse a
plan to attack the victim.
 Most of these stalkers are diagnosed
paraphilias and, compared to the previous
four categories, they were more likely to
have histories of sexual offense convictions.
 May
be in different physical location than
the victim
 Stalker may use multiple online identities
 The victim may not know the stalker
 Stalker engages in different types of
activities
 Anonymity
• Stalker may be embolden
• Stalker may leave sparse identity clues
 E-mail
stalking – direct communication
via e-mail
 Internet stalking – global
communications via the Internet
 Computer stalking – taking control of
victim’s computer
 SMS – short message service & text
messaging
Control of victim and victim’s behavior
 Damaging
victim’s reputation by online
means
 Can be more serious than physical
stalking
• Information can be more widespread
• Information can be found online for a long time