I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1966 
To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to cyberbullying. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 2, 2009 
Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California (for herself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. 
YARMUTH, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. BISHOP of New York, 
Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HARE, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 
CLAY, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. COURTNEY, and Mr. 
KIRK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to 
cyberbullying. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Megan Meier 
Cyberbullying Prevention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Four out of five of United States children 
aged 2 to 17 live in a home where either they or 
their parents access the Internet. 
(2) Youth who create Internet content and use 
social networking sites are more likely to be targets 
of cyberbullying. 
(3) Electronic communications provide anonym-
ity to the perpetrator and the potential for wide-
spread public distribution, potentially making them 
severely dangerous and cruel to youth. 
(4) Online victimizations are associated with 
emotional distress and other psychological problems, 
including depression. 
(5) Cyberbullying can cause psychological harm, 
including depression; negatively impact academic 
performance, safety, and the well-being of children 
in school; force children to change schools; and in 
some cases lead to extreme violent behavior, includ-
ing murder and suicide. 
(6) Sixty percent of mental health professionals 
who responded to the Survey of Internet Mental 
Health Issues report having treated at least one pa-
tient with a problematic Internet experience in the 
previous five years; 54 percent of these clients were 
18 years of age or younger. 
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SEC. 3. CYBERBULLYING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 41 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 881. Cyberbullying 
‘‘(a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign com-
merce any communication, with the intent to coerce, in-
timidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress 
to a person, using electronic means to support severe, re-
peated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title 
or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. 
‘‘(b) As used in this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘communication’ means the elec-
tronic transmission, between or among points speci-
fied by the user, of information of the user’s choos-
ing, without change in the form or content of the in-
formation as sent and received; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘electronic means’ means any 
equipment dependent on electrical power to access 
an information service, including email, instant mes-
saging, blogs, websites, telephones, and text mes-
sages.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 41 of title 18, United States 
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Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
‘‘881. Cyberbullying.’’. 
Æ 
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