Will Online Harassment Law Be Used Against Those Harassing Lori Drew?

from the irony-alert dept

The story of the Missouri girl who committed suicide after being insulted by a fake child created by some neighbors keeps getting odder. As you may recall, the police decided (reasonably) that Lori Drew, the woman who participated in setting up and using the fake profile, was found not to have committed a crime. However, the town where they live recently passed a new law against online harassment, which seemed like a kneejerk reaction more than anything else. Still, the law was clearly directed at actions like those of Drew, Drew's daughter and another friend. However, in something of a twist, it now appears that this new law may actually be used against the hordes of folks now attacking Drew and her family online. Remember that a bunch of online vigilantes have taken it upon themselves to harass Drew for her participation in the hoax that resulted in the suicide -- even setting up a fake blog supposedly written by Drew trying to justify the actions. Drew insists she has nothing to do with the blog and it's part of the harassment campaign against her. While it does seem somewhat ironic that a law that was put in place basically because of Drew's actions may now be used to protect her, the lengths that these vigilantes are going to shows yet another example of just how far online mobs can go when they decide they want justice.

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