The story of Amanda Todd makes one question whether the complications involved in conspiracy cases will ever be solved. Moreover, her story reveals the dark side of the activities among social media users today. Before her death, Amanda left a YouTube video narrating the story of how she met a man online and flashed a picture of her breasts. The ‘fun' was short-lived when the stranger asked for another show, a request that Amanda declined. The consequences of her refusal were blackmail whereby the photograph was sent to Amanda's classmates. For this reason, she took to alcohol and drugs followed by several suicide attempts before meeting her death. The story of Amanda describes the term ‘cyber-bullying.' According to Pendergrass & Wright (2014), harassers in cases like Amanda's are considered to have motives of shiftiness and bad faith. While the malice still sparks arguments, one question still lingers; should the case of Amanda Todd be regarded as legally prosecutable under "conspiracy to commit harm or defame"? If so, which methods would be used to decide such a charge?
The case of Amanda vs. Anonymous reveals the vagueness in the term ‘cyber-bullying.' While there has always been one person in the crowd whose cruelty exceeds the effects of an insult, the malicious in Amanda's harasser remains unquestionable. Anyone who has ever been to high school is aware of the effect of a student's photographs been distributed like Amanda's. In a cultural myth, particularly in social platforms, the actions of an online bully are considered legal, and the state has no power to involve itself in cases like this. Nonetheless, the action of Amanda's harasser in following her to new schools and repeatedly posting images regardless of the medium reveals the intentions of his actions. Being Canadian, cyber harassment is considered prosecutable under the provision of general harassment in the criminal code. On the other hand, the United States has laws against cyber harassment and bullying in addition to the Federal Interstate Stalking Punishment and Prevention Act which handles harassment across the national borders (Bonanno & Hymel, 2013).
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The deeds of the anonymous harasser were aimed at defaming the victim. The laws mentioned earlier are all subject to the limitations of the First Amendment which does not protect against threats and harassment. While actions like in Amanda's case are wrong and inhumane, there is yet to be a case in which a harasser is being prosecuted. Therefore, there is an unlikelihood of the case being considered as legally prosecutable under "conspiracy to commit harm or defame" despite the fault in it. The reason for the failure of prosecution in such cases is owed to the cultural mores which have been prevented laws from being invoked.
Considering the events in the case of Amanda Todd vs. Anonymous and preceding cases, it is clear that there is a widespread belief that such cases of harassment are regrettable but not ultimately punishable. There are, however, significant consequences to this belief. The main result is that the lack of prosecution conceals the truth about the practice especially since a majority of the victims are usually teenagers who are aware of what is happening. While the identity of Amanda's harasser is yet to be confirmed, the police are still on the lookout for anyone that will point the finger at the right person. Despite the improbability of the harasser being caught and prosecuted, the theory of an adult targeting teenagers and using them for their malicious intentions remains a reality that happens every day on the internet.
References
Bonanno, R. A., & Hymel, S. (2013). Cyber bullying and internalizing difficulties: Above and beyond the impact of traditional forms of bullying. Journal of youth and adolescence , 42 (5), 685-697.
Pendergrass, W. S., & Wright, M. (2014). Cyberbullied To Death: An Analysis Of Victims Taken From Recent Events. Issues in Information Systems , 15 (1).
