If your child has been involved in cyber bullying, you may be worried that you will face legal consequences as a result. While consulting a lawyer is recommended whenever you are dealing with a situation that involves legal proceedings and the possibility of prosecution, you can get the basic information about cyber bullying below.
Maryland Bullying Laws
The first step to determining whether you may be held liable for your child’s cyber bullying is becoming acquainted with the laws that apply in Maryland.
- Bullying refers to a situation in which one or more individuals harasses another individual either physically or verbally, making threats or otherwise implying that harm will come to the other party.
- In Maryland, anti-bullying laws apply to protected groups, similar to the way that these groups are protected against discrimination in the workplace. Protected groups are defined according to race, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, national origin, disability and gender identification. In addition to these groups, anti-bullying laws are meant to protect against harassment that targets a person because of a physical attribute, familial status or socioeconomic status.
- Spreading information online is usually the primary offense when it comes to cyber bullying. This information may be false and spread to humiliate or coerce the other party into giving in to the demands of the bully. Even if the information is true and originates from the victim, spreading it without the consent of the victim for malicious reasons is considered to be bullying.
- Parents may be held liable for the bullying behavior of their children if they are aware that their children are misusing electronic devices for the purpose of cyber bullying. Neglect on the part of the parents or guardians that leads to cyber bullying can also result in liability.
Precedent For Parental Liability in Bullying Cases
There have been cases in which parents have been held liable for their children’s cyber bullying activities. For example, parents in Georgia were held liable when their 13-year-old son was engaging in bullying activities via a fake Facebook profile. The parents had knowledge of the Facebook account for more than a year and had control over the child’s access to a computer and an internet connection, so the Georgia Court of Appeals found that the parents were responsible for these actions.
While other parents were not held liable after a 12-year-old Florida girl committed suicide as a result of the harassment she endured via cyber bullying, the event did help push for legislation to be passed that holds parents liable for their children’s online activity. Supporters of the legislation point out that that parents are held liable in other situations, such as if a child were to harm another by driving their parent’s vehicle without permission.
Gray Areas in Parental Liability
While there are cases that have set a precedent for parental liability, the relative newness of online communications as a form of harassment and bullying among school students makes it difficult to determine whether parents will always be held liable in these cases. The best option is to discuss the situation with a local legal professional who has experience dealing with this type of case, as they will be well acquainted with the legal consequences in similar cyber-bullying cases in the accused parent’s particular location.
