Cyberbullying: Local view

A county official on Long Island made a public statement saying Suffolk County is working hard to "persuade parents to monitor for cyberbullying as aggressively as they would for sexual predators," Newsday reports. The county had pretty high-profile exposure to the problem late last year, when a video of a local teen girl being beaten up by three peers appeared on YouTube (see "Teens' fight video"), a case that Newsday says received worldwide attention. "No law in New York specifically addresses such online behavior, though 22 other states prohibit it," according to Newsday, which adds that "the Nassau district attorney's office, cyberbullying may be considered misdemeanor aggravated harassment, which can be punished by up to a year in prison." [See also "Acting out for the videocam."]