Rest in peace Amanda. Bullied Teen Commits Suicide After Posting Last-Ditch Cry for Help on YouTube

[johnlucas]

24. Yes, I'm in favor of laws addressing internet stalking

But here's the thing about the internet.
People don't always access it from their own computers.
It's a global system so the stalker may live in an entirely different country.
How do you prosecute that?

You could say everybody should post with their real name but then you couldn't be Gormy Cuss & say what you wanted to say for fear that every word, every political position would be used against you at the workplace or when you seek employment.
Anonymity gives safe havens for the creeps but it also protects everybody else.

Some people are known to mask their origins so tracking them down becomes tricky.
There are people who hack into other folks' routers & can do their dirt under someone else's IP Address.
Then you'll get case of mistaken arrest & the mistakenly arrested person can't know everything that goes on outside of his house.
Hell, it can be a friend of yours who came by to visit & did evil stuff on your own computer without your knowledge.
Or brought his laptop/tablet over & accessed your Wi-Fi signal using your IP Address in the process.

If you make a law to curb internet stalking, you better think these things through REALLY CAREFULLY.
The best thing to do for now is to MAKE SURE your kids REALLY UNDERSTAND what the Internet is about.
And if parents forbid the internet from them, parents need to understand that in this world filled with pic/vid recording, internet-connected smartphones/cellphones that just keeping them away from it in your house does not necessarily keep them away from it outside your house.

I was internet stalked before.
I'm telling you that smarter use of the internet is the REAL answer.
And if they make any laws to curb internet stalking they'll probably mess something else up in the process.

They haven't even mastered the old network—the phone system—yet.
How many times do telemarketers find your phone number & call you/message you out of the blue?
That's just audio.
Internet is video AND audio.
And much more versatile & vast than the phone network.
John Lucas