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Nickdfresh
08-04-2013, 02:50 PM
Facebook may face prosecution over bullied teenager's suicide in Italy
By Ben Wedeman, CNN
updated 7:22 AM EDT, Wed July 31, 2013

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/wtxl.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/94/d9474b00-fa2d-11e2-8329-0019bb30f31a/51f98b74c8b61.preview-300.jpg
14 year old Carolina jumped to her death after being stalked and harassed on Facebook
Novara, Italy (CNN) (http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/31/world/europe/italy-facebook-suicide) -- Like many girls her age, Italian teenager Carolina Picchio shared her pictures, thoughts and emotions on Facebook.

But after a video of the 14-year-old allegedly showed up on Facebook in which she appeared to be drunk and disoriented at a party, social media became a source of torment.

In a wired world, children unable to escape cyberbullying

An ex-boyfriend and his friends posted a steady barrage of abusive, offensive messages aimed at Carolina. And what started out online spilled into her daily life at school, and among her friends in the prosperous northern Italian town of Novara.
The anti-bullying poet you have to hear
Ripa: Social media can be cruel for kids

Unbeknown to her family, it all became too much for her to handle. In the early hours of January 5, she jumped out of her bedroom window, landing headfirst on the concrete below.

Thousands of messages

Carolina's sister, Talita, and some of the teenager's friends say they reported the abusive messages from her ex-boyfriend to Facebook in the hope they would be removed. But, they say, nothing happened.

When bullying goes high-tech

"He was insulting her, mistreating her," Talita said. "We naturally spoke about it with her but she told us not to worry."

Now the Novara prosecutor, Francesco Saluzzo, is looking into the possibility of filing a criminal complaint against Facebook for failing to remove offensive content that may have led to Carolina's suicide.

"In the case of Carolina, it appears some of her friends, some of her relatives, asked for the removal of some of this strong content, and it wasn't removed -- and this played a role in her decision to commit suicide," he said.

Besides the abusive messages on Facebook, on the day leading up to her death, Carolina had received 2,600 vulgar messages via the messaging service WhatsApp, the prosecutor's documents show.

'Have you hurt me enough?'

Carolina left a final letter addressed to her tormenters, which her mother, Cristina Zocca, shared with CNN.

"Are you happy now?" the teenager asked. "Have you hurt me enough? Have you had enough revenge?"

Asked for the company's response, a spokesman for Facebook said, "We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Carolina Picchio and our hearts go out to her family and friends.

How to protect your child from online bullies

"Harassment has no place on Facebook and we actively encourage teens and parents to report incidences of bullying using the links located throughout the site.

"We remove content reported to us that violates our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and we escalate reports of harassment and bullying to law enforcement where appropriate."

Italian media reported in May that eight teenage boys ages 15 to 17 were being questioned by authorities on suspicion of incitement to suicide and possession of child pornography.

But Carolina's mother believes Facebook and other social networks must do more to confront the reality of online bullying.

"My battle is to make the social networks responsible, so that there are protections for minors," she said.

"We can't allow for more Carolinas, or other mothers who must cry and be deprived of the lives of their daughters."

Carolina's uncle has posted a video on YouTube dedicated to the teenager and her death.

It has become a rallying point in Italy for the fight against online bullying.

Journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau contributed to this report.

Coyote
08-04-2013, 03:27 PM
One solution to this might be raising the age limit from 13(?!) to 18...

Seshmeister
08-04-2013, 04:30 PM
They would just move to another site.

Angel
08-04-2013, 10:37 PM
This is great news! I'm with a group that reports offensive content and bullying to FB. It's unbelievable the shit they keep up because they claim it does not breach the terms...and you would be amazed at how many adults are involved. Changing the age wouldn't make a difference. They would just lie or go elsewhere....Like to chat rooms such as the one Amanda Todd frequented. Good for Italy, I hope they pursue it to the max!

sadaist
08-04-2013, 10:56 PM
Glad that I didn't have any of this shit when I was in high school. No pagers, cell phones, computers. To call my girlfriend I had to go to a 7-11 and use a payphone. Most likely leave a message on her answering machine. If I went on a weekend with the guys it was "okay, I'll try to call you Saturday if I can find a phone. But I'll be home Sunday night". We had the freedom to actually enjoy our weekend road trips.

Angel
08-04-2013, 11:21 PM
Oh God, we barely had answering machines when I was in school! My boyfriend had to leave messages with my mom or dad!

Kristy
08-05-2013, 12:00 AM
Glad that I didn't have any of this shit when I was in high school. No pagers, cell phones, computers. To call my girlfriend I had to go to a 7-11 and use a payphone. Most likely leave a message on her answering machine. If I went on a weekend with the guys it was "okay, I'll try to call you Saturday if I can find a phone. But I'll be home Sunday night". We had the freedom to actually enjoy our weekend road trips.

This post brought to you by the year 1861.

Seshmeister
08-05-2013, 09:45 AM
What age were you when you got your first cell phone?

Seshmeister
08-05-2013, 09:48 AM
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/558235_303226436442745_279630954_n.jpg

binnie
08-05-2013, 12:15 PM
It seems that technology is far ahead of the law as far as the internet goes. There are many difficult isses: how to impose a policy on a 'space' which is international, and therefore (potentially) subject to multiple and conflicting laws/policies regarding freedom of speech and harrassment; the extent to which FB or Twitter 'controlling' content might be perceived as context; and how we actually defining 'bullying'.

It is clear to me, however, that is you are a multi-billiion $ institution, you have a huge responsibility to your users. Posting on FB and Twitter is a form of publishing and, to my mind, should be held to the same standards as other publishing. You could not publish the kind of abuse that kids (and adults, lest we forget) post about one another on FB, and I do not see why it isn't illegal in that forum too.

Other policies which might alleviate (but certainly not eradicate) these problems are: 1) raise the age at which you are allowed to use Twitter/FB to 16 (FB is currently 13, I believe); 2) block all access to them in schools (companies do this, so why can't schools); 3) if someone is found to have posted abusive comments from a computer owned by a school/company, then the school-child/employing should face disciplinary action - if you said it to someone's face you would be disciplined, why is this any different?; 4) prevent kids from taking smart-phones to school. The last one makes perfect sense to me: if you used a Walkman (remember those) or CD in the school grounds when I was at school, the teachers confiscated it. Why not apply the same policy to phones - either don't bring them to school or (to alleviate the 'my child needs a phone for safety to and from school' BS that would inevitably ensue from such a policy) state that they have to be placed in lockers during the duration of the school day.

clarathecarrot
08-05-2013, 12:43 PM
The "blame game" is the money maker for the lawyers and the reason to pass a new law for the diplomats...replacing the curbs on 107th street gets old they need something to do.

No one on either end of the suck stick gives a fuck about any of the unfortunate they are using for thier, ill gotten gains.

Just like that Trayvon dude, how it all became whitey did it, is how Sharpton gets viewers on his teevee show.

PETE'S BROTHER
08-05-2013, 01:10 PM
still no cell phone :thumb:

Seshmeister
08-05-2013, 05:44 PM
http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/internet_10_01.gif

Terry
08-05-2013, 09:40 PM
Glad that I didn't have any of this shit when I was in high school. No pagers, cell phones, computers. To call my girlfriend I had to go to a 7-11 and use a payphone. Most likely leave a message on her answering machine. If I went on a weekend with the guys it was "okay, I'll try to call you Saturday if I can find a phone. But I'll be home Sunday night". We had the freedom to actually enjoy our weekend road trips.

See, back then you could get into some serious mischief and not worry about it being everybody else's business unless you really fucked up big-time (like, say, an overdose that required hospitalization or a car accident).

Dunno what the fuck is up with these kids having to chronicle everything they do with either pics or vids and then post the goddamned things online.

Terry
08-05-2013, 09:42 PM
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/558235_303226436442745_279630954_n.jpg

I loved that game.

Coyote
08-05-2013, 09:54 PM
Dunno what the fuck is up with these kids having to chronicle everything they do with either pics or vids and then post the goddamned things online.

It's a low self-esteem, attention seeking "share everything" generation. Mainly influenced by advertising.

ELVIS
08-05-2013, 10:00 PM
http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/internet_10_01.gif

Who gives a fuck ??

The internet is a complete spy grid...

Nickdfresh
08-05-2013, 10:02 PM
You should write the NSA a nice goodbye thread...

ELVIS
08-05-2013, 10:04 PM
I'm about to tell the entire internet goodbye...

Fuck the Nazi spy grid...

Kristy
08-05-2013, 10:18 PM
Who gives a fuck ??

The internet is a complete spy grid...

Yet, here you are.

iDiot.

Nickdfresh
08-05-2013, 10:19 PM
I'm about to tell the entire internet goodbye...

Fuck the Nazi spy grid...

Awesome! See you tomorrow!

Seshmeister
08-05-2013, 10:21 PM
I'm about to tell the entire internet goodbye...

Fuck the Nazi spy grid...

The funniest thing about that is that you seem to genuinely believe that your internet activity is worth spying on... :D

Heater
08-05-2013, 10:21 PM
I'm about to tell the entire internet goodbye...

Fuck the Nazi spy grid...

GO! Please!

Heater
08-05-2013, 10:25 PM
The funniest thing about that is that you seem to genuinely believe that your internet activity is worth spying on... :D

Textbook narcissist.

Nickdfresh
08-05-2013, 11:47 PM
The funniest thing about that is that you seem to genuinely believe that your internet activity is worth spying on... :D

Can't they just listen to that fat cunt on his shit radio show rather than reading Elvis' tediously written regurgitation of hyperbolic shit?