Rhode Island Teen Facing 'Domestic Violence' Charges For 'Inappropriate' Facebook Message Sent To A Girl He Met
from the don't-be-a-jerk-online dept
We've seen a growing number of vague and worrisome laws passed over the past few years to try to outlaw being a jerk online. Earlier this year, we noted one such law in Rhode Island, which was technically dubbed an "anti-cyberstalking" law, though we worried about just how vague and open for abuse it was. Well, we've now got the first charges filed under the new law. Kashmir Hill points us to the news that a 15-year-old boy is facing "domestic violence" charges for some "inappropriate" messages he sent via Facebook to a 16-year-old girl he met.Police say the 15-year-old Barrington boy met a 16-year-old girl while taking classes this summer and they started to talk through Facebook.There are a whole series of issues here. While the text of the messages hasn't been revealed, the fact that the judgment is based on the girl "feeling uncomfortable" leaves open a wide range of possible abuses. If I feel "uncomfortable" about comments on Techdirt, can I really have the police investigate and potentially send someone to jail because of it? Even the RI representative who wrote the law says that this use is "not what she envisioned." However, she then says it's okay because "the law might stop it from happening to someone else."
But police say the 16-year-old felt uncomfortable when the messages started getting inappropriate.
Police started the investigation in July and now they've charged the minor with cyber stalking, which is now punishable under the domestic violence prevention act.
Really? Stop what exactly? A boy sending a message to a girl that makes her feel uncomfortable? That's called "most of high school" for some boys. And since there's no clear way to determine what is and what is not appropriate here, do we really want to be charging kids under things like domestic violence laws just because they go too far in a Facebook message? I'm not saying that the kid shouldn't be dealt with in some way if the messages really are "inappropriate," but can't they be dealt with in other ways? Block him on Facebook or have parents punish him. Involving the police and charges? Seems "inappropriate."
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: cyberstalking, domestic violence, rhode island
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
So she removed him as a friend on her facebook.
The End.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
So another major fail for the Police State US.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
People need to fix their own problems and when that is impossible or ineffective use a graduated response approach. Ask him to leave you alone, if he doesn't ask your parents to talk to his parents or alternate authority figure, if that doesn't work go to the police or other higher authority.
Now of course if she's actually being threatened it becomes a different story altogether.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
How do you know she didn't?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
The End.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It is now illegal to comment on the Internet except...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110919/01530216000/us-marshals-service-asks-us-to-remove-c omment.shtml
It worked for an AC...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Inappropriate comments will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law
unless they make too many people laugh.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
... and then leave the ear in a small town abandoned lot for some do-gooding hardware store employee to find and consequently end up drawn into a perverse world of kidnapping, sexual sadism and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Until you know the comments, can you really question police involvement? You seem way to ready to jump to a conclusion here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
If you want to tell Mike you love him with a passion that dare not speak its name, then just come out and tell him.
Unless you're in the second grade, it's just embarrassing to see this "hitting the person you have a crush on" crap.
Please learn to express your feelings like an adult so that the rest of us don't have to read this crap.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Mike admits to not knowing, so how can he draw any conclusion about police involvement? Maybe the guy suggested he was going to kill all her family and rape her goldfish. Who knows? We don't. Mike doesn't. So why draw conclusion with way less than the facts?
You guys need to read my comments as well as Mike's, and then you might catch on.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
And a little critical thinking would tell you that it wasn't anything like a threat. If it was a direct threat, the comment in question would be all over the news with the claim that this is why we need these overbearing laws.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Threats make me uncomfortable. Do they not cause you to feel the same way?
Critical thinking would be "Mike doesn't know what was said, so he cannot draw conclusions on what is or what is not appropriate".
Kissing Mike's ass would be "Pay attention, the comments made her feel..."
See the difference?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Have I said police enough to drill it into your head that a professional said this; a professional who would be bias towards this law. A professional who would not screw up and say a non-legal word.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Seriously, the police's use of "uncomfortable" doesn't really say anything. Nor is it particularly relevant to my point. My point is Mike is drawing a conclusion without having the facts, and jumping up and down about the police being involved without knowing everything.
If that doesn't make you "uncomfortable", I doubt threats on your goldfish will.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
That proves my point. These cops wouldn't be downplaying something like a threat. They would be hyping it all over the nation as a sign that they're doing right, that they need these laws to do their job. The simple fact that a cop is downplaying the comment says that it's not much of a comment.
And your point isn't to shed light on just this article, your point is to harass Mike and to berate anyone who has a different opinion then you. Beware what you say, your making people feel uncomfortable.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Since I'm already posting for the lil raped goldfish: AC up there is our regular troll, don't waste your time with it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Call the police
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Probably because if it was anything serious, the charges wouldn't be based "on the girl feeling uncomfortable", but would istead revolve around a threat posed by the boy.
Man, reading between the lines ain't THAT hard....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
I think this statement gets to the heart of the differences between 'insiders' and some ACs. And really its to ACs point. The 'between the lines' part is subjective, we don't all see the same thing there.
TD loves this kind of position where subjective opinion is never right or wrong. Mike can declare himself correct and many regular readers will accept that. Some of us do not have the insider faith.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
FTFY....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I point out that we have different subjective opinions and you insult me. Until we have the facts it is all subjective. There really is more than one way to look at the situation here, it is too bad that you cannot see that but it is your prerogative to be close minded. So glad I wasted time on techdirt.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Do we have the text of the messages? No. But we don't need them to make a judgement about how egregious that text was.
Come on and cowboy up, partner. It wasn't THAT bad an insult, or you'd have had the cops arrest me....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
It is not think skin as much as I do not appreciate it. Honestly, it is difficult to have a productive exchange here when everyone jumps to being a jerk.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
In Space!
C'mon, just a little call to the police... you know you want to...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Clearly.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Because 'multiple interpretations' is license to fabricate harm where none exists!
I know! I'll "interpret" your posts as a series of death threats against me! And you can't stop me; it's my interpretation!
/s
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
DH, when it's Mike writing the lines, it's very hard to read between them. He is the master on intentionally leaving things out, excluding needed information or perhaps introducing non-relevant information (see the camera / gun post as a great example), and sometimes drawing the lines one over another.
So, sadly, in this case there is huge gaps between the lines, and both of us can draw our own conclusions that fit within those lines. It's my entire point at the end, Mike selected a single conclusion, where the information provided allows for many other conclusions that would not agree with him at all.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Why don't just shut the fock off then if it works so well, instead of bugging everybody with your mancrush on Mike?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
But it's messages on Facebook that really hurt me...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
So "cyberstalking" is domestic violence?
A better wake up call for him might have been, I dunno her adult calling his adult and pointing out there is an issue and finding a solution. But that is to much like parenting, and why do that when you can just have the government take all the responsibility.
I can't wait for word to get around school that she flipped out over some words on Facebook and the kids shut her out, and then she can try to complain no one wants to talk to her anymore and its not fair, then we can force kids to talk to her... that will end well.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
We've seen definite overkill in other social media, such as Twitter and Paul Chambers - http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/311282
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Another movie reference...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Another movie reference...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Nevertheless, regardless of whether what was said actually constitutes the latter, this should not have gone to court for a first offence. There are attitude-adjustment strategies that don't require saddling a dumnb teenage kid who was too immature to know any better with a criminal record.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Yep, several strategies that would work. Number 1: have police show up at the door with guns drawn. Number 2: shoot kid.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
If the kid crossed the line to harassment, and threats, or "sexual miss-conduct" laws already exist to prevent that type of behavior. Why the "special" law? If he did cross the line and could be charged with any of the other 3 the Police/DA would have done so. They made a choose not to, so now they will try to push this new law, with little to no case law to back it up in an attempt to make it easier next time (and the next)...
Something on the Legal side of things is fishy... anyway you look at it and they are trying to ruin a 15 year old's life in the process...
My my how far we have fallen...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
lemonparty.org
Will cheer you right up.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Perhaps not, but we are getting closer. Starting with sexual harassment laws, the definition of wrong-doing has become more and more centered around how the "victim" feels, not what the "perpetrator" did in actual real-world terms.
Regrettably, some of this is necessary. We can't always spell-out every single action that constitutes a violation of a law. The law is frequently subjective. But these days, we have a lot of focus on reaction to the deed in determining violation, rather than on the deed itself.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I don't know, can you?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
This reminds me of a conversation I had with this one guy who said if he had room mates he'd want to surgically attach monitoring devices to them to measure their breath, body heat, eating, and movements so he'd know exactly how much (to the fraction of a cent) to charge for rent every month -- because god forbid he fail to bill them for anything he possibly could.
This is the exact same logic; the sad thing is, I'm not making this conversation up, either -- and if you think that "punishing crime" is more important than civil liberty, then you're exactly the same as the person I just described -- only you want to do it to the entire world.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Turns out it was the WSJ.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904060604576570801651620000.html?mod=googlenews_ wsj
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Curious
In fact about half the sentences in the last two paragraphs are actually questions. At most he uses this incident to suggest that this new law is too vague and may be used or overused with unintended results.
Kinda like how this comment section is intended for people to discuss the articles, but is instead used or overused by people who think simply because they can comment or post online, they should.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Curious
Things you can conclude -
This issue bubbled to the surface and Mike found it worthy of covering.
Rather than have a blog where he dictates what everyone should think, he often tries to encourage dissenting opinions and discussion.
More often than not, people seem to agree with his assessment.
I comment and post because I think I should, and sometimes its even relevant.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Cyberstalking?
Think of it this way: if he stood on his front lawn and she was on the sidewalk, and he started making those comments in person, would that be "stalking"? Of course not. She is free to walk away. So when those same comments are made online, in a medium where she is free to "walk away" by unfriending/blocking him, why is that "cyberstalking"?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is NOT Domestic Violence
Why DV is even talked about here dilutes the very foundation of Domestic Violence. If anything this should be treated as high end harassment and treated accordingly through CURRENT laws that the USA as every other democratic country has.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Free Speech
Nothing in the story indicates any unlawful threat of violence, so I will presume there was none, surely the police would have mentioned if there were.
This is just a government attempt to cut back our Freedoms at the bequest of it's elitist backers who fear our Freedoms. If government can prosecute a man for "inappropriate" internet comments, that power will be used to stifle legitimate criticism of the government and it's cronies.
Its time that We the People rise up and throw these b/tards out.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Free Speech
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Free Speech
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
the problem
[ link to this | view in chronology ]