Legislator Wants To Ban Online Bullying

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) An Anne Arundel County legislator wants to expand Maryland law to allow the state to investigate and prosecute those who engage in cyber bullying.

Online bullying has become an increasing problem with many young people.

Gigi Barnett reports one Maryland lawmaker now wants tougher punishment for those caught threatening others on the internet.

Delegate Nicholaus Kipke says it's a growing problem in Maryland, and it's one he plans to target.

The number of web pages in cyber space are endless, and some believe web sites are being used to bully.

"Teens have killed themselves over stuff like this," said a parent.

It's called cyber bullying, and it's happened to one woman's 13-year-old daughter.

Lisa, a parent who only wished to be addressed by her first name, says her daughter learned of a MySpace page that featured sexually explicit words and pictures to describe her last summer.

She says two girls at her daughter's school created the page, and Lisa says they're all lies.

But when she called police, she learned Maryland doesn't have a law against cyber bullying.

"I was furious. I was very angry. How could you do something like this? Trash a person's name and get away with it," said Lisa.

"If I were to send you a letter today saying you're a horrible person, and I want you to die, and I'm going to come after you, that's illegal. But if I were to do that on MySpace, it's not illegal," said Kipke.

Now, Kipke's new bill allows police to step in where they weren't allowed to before.

"They made her look like a bad person. It's hard to get your reputation back after that's been taken away from you," said Kipke.

If passed, the bill would make it a misdemeanor with a $500 fine and a year in jail.

So far, 25 states have laws against cyber bullying.

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