Cyberbullying: A Need for a Separate Criminal Offence

This dissertation focuses on cyberbullying, its impact on victims, and the need for a separate criminal offense. It discusses the current laws and remedies available to victims in the UK. The study aims to understand the seriousness of the issue and develop reasoning for the need to deal with it more carefully.

Running Head: Advance Legal Research 0
Advance Legal Research
Business and Corporation Law
Student’s Name
11/3/2018

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Research aim and objective.............................................................................................................3
Research Question...........................................................................................................................3
Methodology....................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................4
The adverse impact of Cyber Bullying............................................................................................5
Cyberbullying and current law........................................................................................................7
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................13
Legislations 13
Other Resources 13
Book/Journals 14

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Introduction
As the name implies Cyberbullying is a form of bullying in which a person uses electronics
means to threat the others1. Cyberbullying is also known as cyber harassment. Social media sites
are the lead mode of such bullying2. Many of researchers have seen that cyber-attacks bring
many of the negative impacts to the victims and should be controlled at the initial level. A
bullying activity can be identified as repetitive behavior or can be identified as an activity that
intends to harm others. There are many activities happening around that can be treated as cyber
bullying, however, this is to be stated that not every negative interaction on social media can be
termed as cyber bullying. Research also suggests that there are interactions on social media that
can lead to peer pressure and negative emotions but cannot be considered as cyber-attack
because an intention to threat others do not present there. There are many types of cyber-attack
such as cyber stalking and trolling.
In the current scenario, where the use of technology is no more a critical thing and is available in
every other hand; cyberbullying is increasing fastly. An act of cyberbullying can disclose the
personal data of a victim or can provide other harms to the same3. The recent rise of mobile apps
and smartphones have increased the issue4. In conjunction with this, more use of the internet also
helping the cyber-buyers. Cyber-attack is an offense and different nations have their different
laws on the same. Prevention of such crime is a concern for the government itself and therefore
1 Sheri Bauman, Donna Cross and Jenny L. Walker, ‘Principles of Cyberbullying Research: Definitions, Measures,
and Methodology’ (Routledge 2013)
2 Wan Ng, ‘New Digital Technology in Education: Conceptualizing Professional Learning for Educators’ (Springer
2015)
3 Manish Gupta, Handbook of Research on Emerging Developments in Data Privacy (IGI Global 2014) 335
4 Dailymail.co.uk, ‘Young children who own a smartphone are at greater risk of bullying, and are MORE likely to
pick on others’ < https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4993234/Youngsters-mobile-devices-risk-
bullying.html> accessed on 05 November 2018

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there is a need to have a look at the current laws. By looking after the increasing cyberbullying
issue in the society, this is to be stated that there is a need to give this offense some special
attention and therefore the current scenario needs to be reviewed. In the given dissertation, the
focus will be made to cybercrimes, current situation, and the needed changes.
Research aim and objective
The research is being made on the topic of cyber bullying, which is essential to understand the
true impact of the same. Cyberbullying is not a topic to ignore and one needs to know about the
consequences that the same can lead to a victim. After the study of the presented dissertation,
one would be able to understand that why there is a need to declare the cyberbullying a separate
criminal offense. In addition to this, cyberbullying has been a much-debated topic in the past few
years as many of the people are affecting in a negative manner cause of the same. The lead
objective behind wiring and presentation of this dissertation is to understand the seriousness of
the issue of cyberbullying and to develop reasoning that what are the needs to deal with this issue
even more carefully.
Research Question
The main topic of the study is to check the impacts and harms of cyberbullying and requirement
to declare the same a separate offence. The research question for this dissertation is to check that
whether there should be a separate criminal offence of cyber bullying.

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Methodology
In order to prepare this dissertation, secondary data will be collected and use as resources and
references. In addition to this, qualitative and quantitative both kinds of data will be used. First,
focus will be made on the general concept of cyberbullying and then after the impacts of the
same will be discussed. In order to provide an outline and methodology, this is to be stated that
the dissertation will further include reasoning on the research question that will be followed by
conclusion.
Literature Review
Under UK law, there is no clear definition of cyber bullying. It means the scope of the same is
not clear and many of the activities come under the purview of the same. In an act of cyber
bullying, a person uses the electronic mode to threaten the other. As mentioned earlier various
types of cyberbullying are there. Many means and modes are there that can use for a cyber-
bullying. Some of the lead modes are mentioned as below that a criminal uses for cyber-attacks.
1. E-mail:- In the current commercial world, everyone uses this mode of communication.
With the increasing use of e-mail, the risk of misuse of the same is also increasing. Many
times, criminal sends disturbing e-mails to a person or a group of person and in such
manner threaten others5.
2. Instant messenger:- Criminal uses this mode to send abusive or threatening messages to
others and in this manner commit the offense of cyber bullying.
5 Inbrief.co.uk, ‘Cyberbullying: what's the law?’ <https://www.inbrief.co.uk/offences/cyberbullying/> accessed on
05 November 2018

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3. Gaming:- Gaming is being a concern these days. Online gaming provides a remote
platform to people from different locality to play with each other on a common platform6.
In gaming, the criminals use this platform to abuse and threaten others by spreading
rumors about them, adding their emails to a gaming profile list and by some other modes.
4. Social Networking sites:- The most dangerous platform for cyberbullying is social
networking sites. Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook contributes to
cyberbullying as criminals post the pictures and other information of victims over there,
which lead depression and other similar issues to victims.
Criminal do most of the cyberbullying by above-mentioned means. In order to understand the
issue in detail, these modes were needed to study as they show cyberbullying is involved in
almost every technology and therefore needs to be a separate criminal offense. Further, to
understand the need behind declaring cyberbullying a separate criminal offense, the adverse
impact of the same are needed to be discussed. This is to mention that cyberbullying is a very
significant issue that deserves much attraction of the authorities, however the same is still not
known as a criminal offense and no separate laws are there in the country (here county refers to
the UK) to prevent this issue.
The adverse impact of Cyber Bullying
Cyberbullying can lead many negative results to a victim as they get the effect in many ways.
Embarrassment is the most basic feeling that a victim faces out of an event of cyber bullying. A
cyberbullying act affects the daily lives of the victim and makes a peaceful leaving difficult for
6 Nick Hunter, ‘Cyber Bullying’ (Raintree 2011) 16

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them. In many of the cases, victims commit suicide, as they cannot find the other way to get rid
out of the feeling of embarrassment.
They feel powerless: - After an incident of Cyber Bullying, victims feel unsafe. They even find
unsafe themselves at their homes. It creates mental pressure on them and they started feeling
helpless7. In most of the cases of cyber bullying, victims remain unaware of the identity of the
criminal. In such a situation, victims feel the presence of cyberbullying everywhere.
They Feel Angry: - Cause of cyber bullying, the emotion of anger increases in the victims. In
addition to this, other negative emotions also get developed in victims that can lead to adverse
impact on their personality8.
They feel humiliated: - In most of the incidents of cyber bullying, the criminal has the intention
to humiliate the victim party. When a cyber-bullying happens, the personal messages of a person
can be shared with multiples and in this way, the victim feels humiliated.
They feel Dissatisfied: - In general, a criminal does cyberbullying with a person of goodwill. In
such a situation, people lose their trust in themselves and started feeling unsatisfied with their
performance. An act if cyberbullying reduces the confidence level of victims.
All the above-mentioned feelings are some of the results of cyberbullying act. By reviewing the
same, one can get an idea that how bad and disturbing a cyber-bullying incident can prove for a
person. Study of recent statistics is also important to review in order to understand the dangerous
impact of a cyber-bullying activity. According to a research paper available on ‘Ditch The
Label’, 3 percent of children and young people reported an attempt to commit the suicide cause
7 Blogging.com, ‘Understanding And Preventing Cyberbullying.< https://blogging.com/cyberbullying/> accessed 05
November 2018
8 Sherri Gordon, ‘What Are the Effects of Cyberbullying? < https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-the-effects-
of-cyberbullying-460558> accessed 05 November 2018

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of a cyber-bullying incident. In conjunction to this, 28 percent young people have reported the
incident of cyberbullying on Twitter and 26 percent on Ask.fm9. The statistics show that
cyberbullying is increasing day by day and the same is very dangerous for people. The risk of
such bullying exists more in children and young people group. Cyberbullying can happen with
anyone and hence there is a requirement to consider this issue very seriously by the authorities.
Cyberbullying and current law
What remedies are available to a victim in against of cyberbullying in the nation. To answer this
query, this is to state that at present cyberbullying is not a separate criminal offense and
punishments for the same is granted under other criminal rules and regulations10. Neither
bullying nor cyberbullying are criminal offenses specifically, however, some criminal and civil
laws are there that can be used to provide protection from cyberbullying activities11. Some of
these acts are mentioned below:-
The Public Order Act 198612
The Communications Act 200313
Obscene Publications Act 195914
Cyberbullying in the Workplace15
The Malicious Communications Act 198816;
9 Bullying.co.uk, ‘Effects of cyber bullying’ < https://www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/effects-of-cyberbullying/>
accessed 05 November 2018
10 Bernadette H. Schell, Online Health and Safety: From Cyberbullying to Internet Addiction: From Cyberbullying
to Internet Addiction (ABC-CLIO 2016) 92
11 Adrienne Katz, ‘Cyberbullying and E-safety: What Educators and Other Professionals Need to Know’ (Jessica
Kingsley Publishers 2012) 214
12 The Public Order Act 1986
13 The Communications Act 2003
14 Obscene Publications Act 1959
15 Cyberbullying in the Workplace
16 The Malicious Communications Act 1988

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The Education and Inspections Act 2006 (EIA 2006)17
These acts provide protection in against of cyberbullying under various provisions and threats an
act of cyberbullying as a criminal activity. For instance, the Malicious Communications Act
198818 states that any communication that a person sends with an intention to give anxiety or
distress to others is treated as a criminal offense. Similarly, Section 127 of the Communications
Act 2003 states that sending an electronic message that is offensive or of a menacing, indecent or
obscene character is treated as an offense19. If the police get satisfied that, a person has
committed any such activity under any of the above act then the same can held a person liable for
an offense and victim party is entitled to ask the damages from the guilty party.
The general principle is that what is an offense offline is an offense online. Many of the people
argue that there is no requirement to declare the cyberbullying a criminal offense and current
laws are enough to provide the security to the victim parties. Whereas on the other side, many of
the people are in favor to develop a separate law to deal with the issue of cyber bullying.
There is no one specific law on the topic of cyberbullying in the nation but as mentioned earlier
there are many other laws, under which a victim of cyberbullying can grant justice. Apart from
the laws and authorities, there are many anti-bullying organizations exist in the nation that helps
the victims of cyber bullying20. Individuals, as well as organizations, are suspected to be a victim
of cyber bullying. On a daily basis, authorities are hearing case of cyber-attacks and bullying.
Cyberbullying at workplace is another serious issue that creates problems for the managers and
owners of a business. How much negative impacts cyberbullying brings to organizations can be
17 The Education and Inspections Act 2006 (EIA 2006)
18 Malicious Communications Act 1988
19 Laura Scaife, ‘Handbook of Social Media and the Law’ (CRC Press 2014) 130
20 Peter K. Smith, Keumjoo Kwak and Yuichi Toda, ‘School Bullying in Different Cultures’ (Cambridge University
Press, 2016)

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understood by the fact this fact that every year UK employers spend £2bn on the investigation
and litigation processes related to cyber bullying. After all these issues too, an act of
cyberbullying is not a criminal offense in general. No separate provisions and laws are there in
the nation to deal with this issue.
In the UK, two types of cyberbullying are well known. One is where criminal choose one or
more known and identified persons as his/her target and another one is where criminal do
cyberbullying in against of public at large.
In the current scenario, if a person does some wrongful act online, then he/she can be held liable
under various acts. This is the reason that solicitors, as well as courts, do need to look up to
several laws and legislation while considering a case of cyber bullying. Celebrity, Katie Price
demanded from the government that there should be a cyber-bullying law on the name of her
son, Harvey and she is suggesting a new law in the nation to be named as HARVEYS Law. Not
only in the UK but worldwide, it has been noticed that anti-cyberbullying helplines are getting
calls and cases of cyber bullying. Many of the people are not aware of their rights and therefore
there is a much requirement to declare the cyberbullying a criminal offense.
Until unless the cyberbullying will not get a title of a criminal offense, the same would be hard to
control. There are many other reasons for that there should be a spate criminal offense of
cyberbullying and the same are discussed further in this literature review. Before that this to be
mention that in the UK, every school is required to develop anti-bullying policies. Further, in
addition to this, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 is there to protect the teachers as
well as students from the activities of cyber bullying21. This would not be wrong to state that
21 Anne-Marie Quigg, ‘Bullying in the Arts: Vocation, Exploitation and Abuse of Power’ (CRC Press 2016)

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there is enough protection to victims of cyberbullying under the various acts of the nation,
nevertheless, there is always a scope of betterment.
In the year 2014, a child girl of 14 years named Hannah Smith committed suicide because of
cyberbullying happened against her22. It was a very serious issue that ended the life of an
innocent child. Death is not the only issue. Apart from death, many of the children and young
people have suffered from many of the physical and mental issues. Cyberbullying needs to be
considered as a crime as the same proves hazardous to the victims and affect their personality in
a very adverse manner.
Following are some of the reasons for that there should be a separate law for cyber bullying.
Although, there are many laws, that provide justice to victim parties, yet they have certain
limitations. The same are as follow:-
 The scope is not clear: - The main issue in the current scenario is that the scope of
cyberbullying is not clear. In the absence of a separate legislation, no clear definition is
given of cyber bullying23. Whether a cyber-crime will be treated as cyberbullying or not
is typical to decide.
 Unjustification:- cyberbullying is restricted under many acts, but what about those issues
that are not covered by any such act. Cyberbullying can happen in many ways and
therefore it is not necessary that these acts cover those ways. In such a situation, there are
chances of nonjustification in those cases where none if the act covers the issue.
22 Caroline Davies, ‘Hannah Smith wrote 'vile' posts to herself before suicide, say police’ <
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/06/hannah-smith-suicide-teenager-cyber-bullying-inquests>
accessed 05 November 2018
23 Michael Freeman, ‘Law and Childhood Studies: Current Legal Issues’ (OUP Oxford 2012) 297

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 The issue for victims:- People are not aware of their rights. In the lack of a separate
legislation focusing on cyber bullying, people are not able to understand that whether
they have become a victim of a cyber-bullying. Studies of many laws are not possible for
a persona and sometimes they do contradict with each other.
 Fear of offense:- At present, cyberbullying is not a criminal offense in general and hence
people do the same against others without fear. Punishments are there under civil as well
criminal laws, yet the lack of separate provisions promotes such issues as criminals are
aware that their act will not be counted as a criminal offense until unless an act will be
applicable under which similar provisions are mentioned.
 Issues for courts:- Absences of a separate criminal offense for cyberbullying is also a
hurdle for solicitors and judges as they have to look upon various legislations in order to
provide justice to a victim of cyber bullying.
All the above-mentioned issues exist in current because there is no separate criminal offense
for cyber bullying. To eliminate these issues from the system, there is a requirement to
declare cyberbullying as a separate criminal offense.
Conclusion
To conclude the research question, this is to be stated that in the UK, no separate law is there to
deal with the issue of cyber bullying. As discussed above, the impacts of cyberbullying are very
dangerous and therefore the issue demands much attention of government and authorities. The
cases of cyberbullying and harassment are increasing day by day but people are not aware of the
remedies available to them. An act of cyberbullying brings serious harms to victims. In the
current world of technology, cyberbullying cannot be prevented 100 percent but can be reduced

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upto a level by making the same a criminal offense. Taking reference of other acts is not a much
practical thing to do. By making a separate criminal offense for cyber bullying, many practical
issues can be resolved. Only declaring the cyberbullying as a criminal offense is not enough but
in addition to the same, a separate law should also be developed.
If this would happen, then the cases related to cyberbullying will be resolved shortly. /There are
many benefits of making a separate criminal offense to cyberbullying and to develop a separate
law. The same will reduce the confusion of public and the number of queries to the department
will also be reduced. The research question can be concluded as, yes there should be a separate
criminal offense of cyberbullying as the same is a very dangerous threat to the society and
deserves special attention of authorities.

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Bibliography
Legislations
Cyberbullying in the Workplace
Malicious Communications Act 1988
Obscene Publications Act 1959
The Communications Act 2003
The Education and Inspections Act 2006 (EIA 2006)
The Malicious Communications Act 1988
The Public Order Act 1986
Other Resources
Blogging.com, ‘Understanding And Preventing Cyberbullying.<
https://blogging.com/cyberbullying/> accessed 05 November 2018
Bullying.co.uk, ‘Effects of cyber bullying’ < https://www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/effects-
of-cyberbullying/> accessed 05 November 2018
Caroline Davies, ‘Hannah Smith wrote 'vile' posts to herself before suicide, say police’ <
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/06/hannah-smith-suicide-teenager-cyber-
bullying-inquests> accessed 05 November 2018

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Dailymail.co.uk, ‘Young children who own a smartphone are at greater risk of bullying, and are
MORE likely to pick on others’ <
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4993234/Youngsters-mobile-devices-risk-
bullying.html> accessed on 05 November 2018
Inbrief.co.uk, ‘Cyberbullying: what's the law?’
<https://www.inbrief.co.uk/offences/cyberbullying/> accessed on 05 November 2018
Sherri Gordon, ‘What Are the Effects of Cyberbullying? <
https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-the-effects-of-cyberbullying-460558> accessed 05
November 2018
Book/Journals
Bauman S, Cross D and Walker J L, ‘Principles of Cyberbullying Research: Definitions,
Measures, and Methodology’ (Routledge 2013)
Freeman M, ‘Law and Childhood Studies: Current Legal Issues’ (OUP Oxford 2012)
Gupta M, Handbook of Research on Emerging Developments in Data Privacy (IGI Global 2014)
Hunter N, ‘Cyber Bullying’ (Raintree 2011)
Katz A, ‘Cyberbullying and E-safety: What Educators and Other Professionals Need to Know’
(Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012)
Ng W, ‘New Digital Technology in Education: Conceptualizing Professional Learning for
Educators’ (Springer 2015)
Quigg A M, ‘Bullying in the Arts: Vocation, Exploitation and Abuse of Power’ (CRC Press
2016)

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Scaife L, ‘Handbook of Social Media and the Law’ (CRC Press 2014)
Schell B H, Online Health and Safety: From Cyberbullying to Internet Addiction: From
Cyberbullying to Internet Addiction (ABC-CLIO 2016)
Smith P K , Keumjoo Kwak and Yuichi Toda, ‘School Bullying in Different Cultures’
(Cambridge University Press, 2016