Nova Scotia’s awful cyber abuse law makes bullies of us all

by Jesse Brown
Macleans.ca
August 8, 2011

Jeff Chiu/AP

I’ve written before about the problems involved in legislating against cyberbullying.  I focused on the impossible issue of reaching a definition. Rape, assault, harassment: these are crimes with established parameters. All of them could also be called “bullying.” They could also be described as “mean,” and I suppose we could enact a law against being mean. But I’d rather have laws against specific crimes, rather than against vast swaths of vaguely defined human behaviour. Ultimately, bullying is in the eye of the bullied. For many, cyberbullying is equal to a negative thing said about them on the Internet. I’ve met restaurant owners who feel they’re being cyberbullied by Chowhound critics.

The problems with anti-cyberbullying laws don’t end there. Once a law establishes some flawed definition, it moves on to enforcement. Here’s how Nova Scotia’s new Cyber Safety Act, which went into effect yesterday, will go about stopping online abuse:

Someone feels that you’re cyberbullying them. They visit or phone the court and request a protection order against you (minors , or some reason, cannot do so, only adults). A judge decides if their claim meets the law’s definition. The definition of cyberbullying, in this particular bill, includes “any electronic communication” that ”ought reasonably be expected” to “humiliate” another person, or harm their “emotional well-being, self-esteem or reputation.”

If this is the standard, I don’t know a person who isn’t a cyberbully.

The issuing of a protection order is an ex parte process between your accuser and the court. You won’t have an opportunity to defend yourself. If a judge issues one against you, here’s what might happen:

•  The police can seize your computers and phone.
• Your Internet connection can be shut off.
• You can be ordered to stop using electronic devices entirely.
• Your Internet Service Provider or Internet companies, such as Facebook, can be compelled to fork over all your data to the police.
• You can be gagged by the court and prohibited from mentioning your accuser online.
• If you violate any of these orders, you’ll face stiff fines and up to two years of jail time. At this point, your accuser can sue you in civil court.

But wait, there’s more.

[READ THE FULL ARTICLE]

[hat tip: Louise Koster]