Combating Cyber Stalking
Cyber stalking allows for the individual to monitor their victim without being detected. This may make cyber stalking appealing to an individual that would otherwise not participate in stalking behavior. The goal of cyber stalking is to exert control over the victim. This is done by; sending harassing messages, posting demoralizing material about the victim, and using technology to harm the victim’s social and/or professional life. Some cyber-stalkers will present publicly that they themselves are the victims and that they are merely defending themselves. Moving offline does not always help the victim. In fact, in doing so, the victim may then experience more harm due to not being able to monitor the material that is being posted publicly. When dealing with public postings of demoralizing content, it is sometimes beneficial for the victim to not defend oneself, regardless of the presented information's validity. When addressing the perpetrator publicly, those who where previously not exposed may be led to seek out the original demoralizing content. (Melander, L. A.2010)
Taking legal action towards the perpetrator can prove very difficult, especially if it is an anonymous situation. Another issue that arises with criminalizing cyber stalking is the issue of jurisdiction. The internet has a global reach. This enables one to harass the victim in any location. Unlike conventional stalking, which require the individual to monitor from a close distance. (Lipton, J.D. (2011).
The laws regarding online harassment are not excessively effective The Interstate Punishment and Prevention Act (IPPA) require that the defendant is using technology to intentionally harm the victim emotionally Prior to this act, it was required that the perpetrator stated threats regarding bodily injury or kidnapping. This was flawed due to the fact that physical threats are not commonly reported when considering internet harassment. Although IPPA is an improvement it still contains a very large flaw, the defendant cannot be anonymous. Those who stalk via nonymous sites, such as Facebook, are also very likely to monitor their victim on sites that allow for the individual to comment anonymously (i.e. Youtube). Another issue that IPPA does not address is the use of digital accounts with false information. It is very common that the stalker will create false web accounts to further monitor the victim. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) identifies this form of harassment as fraudulent. (Lipton, J.D. (2011)
For more information of combating cyber stalking visit: www.fightcyberstalking.org
Taking legal action towards the perpetrator can prove very difficult, especially if it is an anonymous situation. Another issue that arises with criminalizing cyber stalking is the issue of jurisdiction. The internet has a global reach. This enables one to harass the victim in any location. Unlike conventional stalking, which require the individual to monitor from a close distance. (Lipton, J.D. (2011).
The laws regarding online harassment are not excessively effective The Interstate Punishment and Prevention Act (IPPA) require that the defendant is using technology to intentionally harm the victim emotionally Prior to this act, it was required that the perpetrator stated threats regarding bodily injury or kidnapping. This was flawed due to the fact that physical threats are not commonly reported when considering internet harassment. Although IPPA is an improvement it still contains a very large flaw, the defendant cannot be anonymous. Those who stalk via nonymous sites, such as Facebook, are also very likely to monitor their victim on sites that allow for the individual to comment anonymously (i.e. Youtube). Another issue that IPPA does not address is the use of digital accounts with false information. It is very common that the stalker will create false web accounts to further monitor the victim. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) identifies this form of harassment as fraudulent. (Lipton, J.D. (2011)
For more information of combating cyber stalking visit: www.fightcyberstalking.org