With the increase in bullying related news stories around the country, many schools are implementing anti-bully policies. These policies go beyond school yard taunts and extends to cyber harassment on sites like Facebook and MySpace. Other bills in the legislature seek to protect people from online identity theft and harassment.
There are currently two laws, A9790 and S6884, which you can find when looking at legislative tracking, that deal with making the penalties for cyber bullying more intense while also educating kids about the dangers of such malicious acts. This gives victims more recourse to fight back and encourages other students to get involved.
Other bills making their way through the legislative tracking process deal with cyber impersonation and adds cyber space provisions to already existing laws about stalking and harassment. This could affect everything from restraining orders to making cases against stalkers.
This new crop of laws make the Internet a safer place for New Yorkers. They extended common sense ideas put forth in other laws and apply them online. Chances are these bills will quickly pass because cyber security is a growing concern for many people. It’s not all about protection though; some new laws seek to establish online databases for businesses and city services to make life more convenient.