Defamation, by definition, can be taken to mean an instance when someone indulges in an activity that may cause harm to the second party. A libel, in Todd’s case, is the publishing of nude pictures, which was done without her consent; therefore, the executor of the conspiracy, Tyler Boo, had a bad taste of committing character assassination. Conspiracy to commit harm, or defame will be applicable in Todd’s case since it qualifies to be a cyberbully kind of accusation and four main proponents of conspiracy to libel will be used such as publication of Todd’s pictures, exposure of the victim to ridicule in school, falsity of information, and the fact that it was done with fault.
The first consideration is whether Boo published Todd’s pictures or sent it to a third party other than himself. It is a tortious act to send defamatory information to third parties ( Aboujaoude et al , 2015). It is true beyond any reasonable doubt that the conspirator did send nude images to Todd’s friends via the Facebook platform. He did it a series of times. To make matters worse, he tried his best to follow Todd wherever she went while trying to connect with her new friends. Regardless of her trying to change from one school to another in the quest for peace, Boo insistently followed her while tormenting her. The good news is that the evidence can be electronically traced; therefore, adding to the authenticity of information ( Hinduja & Patchin, 2015) . Furthermore, Todd’s friends, who are third parties, in this case, are solid evidence of the same.
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Other than the above, it is also essential to consider whether the information shared with the third party had the capability to breach Todd’s peace; expose her to hatred, disrespect, and/or ridicule. Anything that can breach peace of a second party is illegal ( Hinduja, & Patchin, 2015) . Todd lost respect from her peers as they constantly scorned her of such obnoxious behavior of exposing her nudes online. To add insult to injury, Boo’s conspiracy resulted in Todd’s death, which is a worst-case scenario.
Moreover, consideration is given as to whether the information was false. As a prosecutor, it is very difficult to prove whether the information used to defame the victim was not true ( Cheer, 2012) . However, the libels used in the conspiracy are valid and provable. The contentious issue may be how it was attained, whether it was in the consent of the plaintiff or not, is beyond proof, owing to the fact that she is already dead. However, the truth on the table is that Todd is a minor, and the conspirator had superior thinking than her; therefore, using her innocence to assassinate her character.
Finally, ‘was the defendant guilty of committing a fault at the time of his action?’ One can be charged if he or she knew it was wrong to act in a certain way ( Poole, 2013). It can be proved whether Boo had in mind that she was doing wrong to Todd at the time he was dispensing nude images to Todd’s friends via Facebook. Well, he insisted on doing it, and he knew it was defamatory in one way or another, and that is why he relentlessly trailed her wherever she was going. He threatened Todd of posting her nudes just in case she did not give in to his demand, and this supports his guilty nature.
Even if it is undeniably apparent that criminal defamation law is weak in combating cyberbullying, there are facts that can be laid on the table to ascertain claims. Todd’s case has three strong supporting proponents that can be used to support the case such as breach of peace, defendant’s guilt in time of action, and publicly sharing defamatory information to the third party.
References
Aboujaoude, E., Savage, M. W., Starcevic, V., & Salame, W. O. (2015). Cyberbullying: Review of an old problem gone viral. Journal of Adolescent Health , 57 (1), 10-18.
Cheer, U. (2012). King v Grundon: The need for real and substantial harm in defamation.
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2015). Cyberbullying legislation and case law: Implications for school policy and practice. Cyberbullying Research Center .
Horwitz, D. A. (2016). Conway v. Fulbright Defamation Complaint.
Poole, E. (2013). Hey girls, did you know: Slut-shaming on the internet needs to stop. USFL Rev. , 48 , 221.
