Cyber bullying should be a criminal offense

Hello! Sorry for the delay in my argument. Seeing as my opponent has deftly jumped into his argument from the first round, I will do my best to follow him in procedure. This should be a challenging debate. Let's begin, shall we?I. IntroductionFor my side of the argument, I logically and emotionally maintain the fact that cyberbullying should be taken seriously and, at serious degrees, be a criminal offense, and subject to fines at minimum, and imprisonment at the maximum. Pro has brought up a decent amount of excellent points, with which I mostly agree with. However, I will provide contradictions, cases, and reasoning to negate his/her argument.II. What Exactly is Cyberbullying?My opponent has already stated the dictionary definition: "The act of harassing someone online by sending or posting mean messages, usually anonymously." However, US Legal Definitions goes further, saying "Cyber-bullying could be limited to posting rumors or gossips about a person in the Internet bringing about hatred in other’s minds; or it may go to the extent of personally identifying victims and publishing materials severely defaming and humiliating them."[1] In many cases, cyberbullying applies to the first, official definition, and can easily be resolved in school environments. However, there are many situations of cyberbullying, such as these[2][3][4], when the victim goes far as to committing suicide.Now, I will bring up the definition of third-degree murder. According to the same website, US Legal Definitions, "Third degree murder can be defined as homicide committed with the intention of causing bodily harm, but not necessarily death. It can be a killing that results from indifference or negligence or recklessness. Statutes defining third degree murder vary considerably from state to state."[5] The connection is implied: cyberbullying that causes suicide could possibly be considered as third-degree murder. Now, third degree murder is usually considered as physical homicide, and bodily harm usually accounts for physical wounds. However, the harasser usually knows that what they're doing will humiliate and embarrass the victim, but do not intend to provoke him/her into committing suicide. There are multiple fines and short-term arrests because of third degree murder. If the victim commits suicide, then the bully was technically something of a third degree murderer. This is somewhat farfetched, but even if they don't count as a third degree murderer, they should be accounted as a criminal that falls short of that crime.II. Incapability of the School System and Law EnforcementMy opponent has stated before that since 2010, when the Dignity Act was ratified, schools have been taking more action into preventing cyberbullying. However, this information is grossly obsolete for such a current debate. There have been thousands of cases of cyberbullying since this act nonetheless, including hundreds when the victim attempted (sometimes successfully) suicide due to this.Statistics in an article created in 2012 (2 years after the Dignity Act) by CyberBullyHotline show that 42% of teens in 2012 were cyberbullied, 20% of them thought about suicide, and 10% of them attempted suicide, resulting in 4,500 successful suicidal situations total. [6] This could be 4,500 cases of possible aggravated harassment, third degree stalking, and third degree murder (although the murder is still an assumption). Schools have not significantly decreased the amount of cyberbullying, nor the suicide attempts. In fact, since 2010, the percentage of victims of cyberbullying has increased by 4%. [7] Any laws or regulations since 2010 has proved to be ineffective, and I dare to go further and even say they're technically futile and meaningless in terms of results. Statistics show that further law enforcement is needed in order to effectively decrease the amount of cyberbullied victims.III. Why Criminal Offense?My opponent has defined criminal offense as "an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act." Many cases of cyberbullying, even ones that don't end with the victim's suicide, break several laws, each differing in degrees of severity.[8] Con's sources were all cases when the bully was arrested, but just because you commit a crime doesn't mean you go to jail. You can either pay fines, be on probation, or do community service. Minor criminals such as cyberbullies hardly deserve to be arrested, unless they resemble cases I have stated above. This is where I present my counter-plan. Cyberbullies are evidently unable to be repressed by school discipline, so we should give them varying levels or punishment, depending on the severity of their crimes. Here is the plan I propose in a numerical list:1. Level 1 Cyberbullying. This applies when the bully posts malicious comments and messages open to the general public. Punishments are rare, often able to be settled with a school warning, or a school board warning.2. Level 2 Cyberbullying. This applies when the bully shares personal information about the victim to intend harm, such as a photo, location, phone number, or email address to the general public. The bully could be sued for Publication of Private Facts, and given a suspension in the highest case. If this information is used by a third party to harm the victim, this immediately escalates to a Level 3.3. Level 3 Cyberbullying. This applies when the bully intentionally provokes the victim using obscene and sex-related comments, and encourages the public to do the same. If the bully or his/her accomplices commit an unlawful act to intentionally harm the victim, then it escalates to a Level 4 or he/she will be given a fine or community service along with school suspension. The bully could be charged for Abuse of Freedom of Speech, according to 18 U.S. Code Chapter 71.[9]4. Level 4 Cyberbullying. The bully directly indulges in breaking the law by severely harassing the victim, using inappropriate content such as nude pictures, threats to cause physical harm, and severely discriminative and obscene comments. If one or more of these acts apply to the bully, he or she could be given a short term of prison and immediately put on probation, along with community service and fines. Immediate school expulsion along with school board intervention is mandatory. The bully will be charged with material related to child pornography(18 U.S.C. § 2252A- certain activities relating to material constituting or containing child pornography)[10] and Threats of Violence Against Individuals,[11].5. Level 5 Cyberbullying. The bully distributes underage pornography of the victim, the victim physically gets severely injured by the bully or his/her accomplices, and provokes the victim to commit suicide. If any one of these acts are applied, the bully will be put in a prolonged term of prison, a heavy fine, and other punishments approved by the court. The bully will be charged with child pornography (18 U.S.C. § 2251- Sexual Exploitation of Children), maiming and mutilation(10 U.S. Code § 924),[12] and involuntary manslaughter at extreme cases (Model Penal Code § 210.3)[13]. IV. ConclusionAfter hours of extensive research, I maintain the belief that more severe cases of cyberbullying should be treated as a criminal offense. All of these laws regarding crime report that the offender must have "intended to harm the victim", and the bullies do mean to harm the victim mentally and emotionally to the point that they are physically and psychologically hurt from the bullying as well. Bullies almost always intend to hurt the victim. Logically, the bully knows what they are doing and know what their actions are, although they are blind to the consequences, which is not a valid defense for their wrongdoings. Therefore, cyberbullying is a criminal offense. I have laws, cases, and statistics to support my argument, instead of personal and mildly logical sources from my opponent. This debate's outcome has not been determined yet. I wish good luck to Con, and will await his second argument!V. SourcesNote: I did not post a bibliography, as my sources are still valid, and the additional information is unnecessary and excessive for this debate.[1]http://definitions.uslegal.com...[2]http://nobullying.com...[3]http://www.usatoday.com...[4]http://www.marlinpage.com...[5]http://definitions.uslegal.com...[6]http://www.cyberbullyhotline.com...[7]http://www.pewinternet.org...[8]http://www.stopbullying.gov...[9]http://www.law.cornell.edu...[10]http://www.law.cornell.edu...[11]http://law.justia.com...[12]http://www.law.cornell.edu...[13]http://www.law.cornell.edu...