Rep. Linda Sanchez plans to testify Wednesday in Washington, D.C., about a bill that would give prosecutors greater ability to prosecute online harassment and bullying.
The Lakewood Democrat will discuss her "Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act" before the Congressional Judiciary Subcommittee.
The act would create a federal law that gives prosecutors greater ability to prosecute those who engage in "repeated, hostile, and severe communication made with an intent to harm" online.
The legislation is named after a 13-year old girl who hung herself after a woman posing as her online boyfriend on MySpace broke up with her. The girl's family would later learn that the boy, "Josh," was actually Lori Drew, 49, who had pretended to be a teenage boy.
Finding no laws had been broken, Drew was not prosecuted. However, a California man filed a lawsuit contending that Drew broke the online agreement with MySpace by falsifying her identity.
Drew was convicted, but a judge set aside the verdict, arguing that it was too broad and ran the risk of making it illegal to post criticism online.
"The crimes she was found guilty of, essentially violating the MySpace Web site's rules, are too vague to be constitutional," the New York Times wrote in an editorial.
Some critics, such as the Cato Institute, have said the bill could go too far, penalizing negative, but free, speech.
However, Sanchez said that the bill, as written, should alleviate those concerns.
"I believe that we can protect our right to free speech and victims of cyberbullying at the same time," she said. "I want the law to be able to distinguish between an annoying chain e-mail, a righteously angry political blog post, or a miffed text to an ex-boyfriend -- all of which are and should remain legal; and serious, repeated, and hostile communications made with the intent to harm.
"When the latter rises to a criminal level, as it did in the case of Lori Drew, prosecutors should have a tool at their disposal to allow them to punish the perpetrator."
Some states, such as Missouri, have laws addressing cyber-bullying and harrassment; California does not.
