Cyberbullying on the Internet has been a very serious problem for years, not only because of the impact it has on the quality of life of many people, but also because He has been responsible for many suicides. One of the most notorious was the case of the Japanese fighter Hana Kimura, a young woman who, at just 22 years old, decided to take her own life after suffering a very serious case of cyberbullying.
the young kimura seemed to have it all She was a star and in top form, but unfortunately she was psychologically unprepared for the wave of attacks she received through her social networks. According to the experts, she Kimura had already been dragging a case of depression, but in the end it is clear that the cyberbullying campaign she suffered was key for the fighter to make the decision to end her life.
The case had a great impact internationally, and generated enormous outrage when it was discovered that, even after her death, some people continued to insult her and they came to “celebrate” his death. They were sanctioned with the equivalent of 64 euros, a fact that deeply affected Kimura’s mother and that has been key for Japan to have drawn up a bill that contemplates penalties of up to one year in prison and fines of up to 2,102 euros for offenses of “insult”, and the limitation period for them has been extended from one to three years. If all goes well, this reform will take effect this summer.
As a lawyer, this is a topic that has always seemed fascinating to me because of everything it implies, and also because it generates a lot of controversy among individuals. Most approach it from their own moral perspective, and this gives rise to very different assessments that incur, in many cases, a very dangerous “double standard”. So much so that a good part of users do not finish recognizing the seriousness of cyberbullying on the Internet until they suffer it.
Cyberbullying is much more than just insults
From a legal perspective, not moral, defamation is a crime both on and off the internet, and therefore is prosecutable at both levels. However, the problem is that when we talk about cyberbullying on the Internet, it presents a series of conditions that are different from those that we find face to face, which means that, in the end, it can reach a level of severity that would be unthinkable outside the network of networks.
Kimura’s case is a clear example of this, and further confirms that cyberbullying on the Internet goes far beyond simple insultsand can trigger a series of behaviors that, in the end, end up fitting the criminal type of the suicide induction. This type includes a series of important requirements that are firmly established in the doctrine, such as a minimum of knowledge on the part of the victim and a real influence of the active subject, the harasser in this case, which is direct, effective and sufficient to convince him to commit suicide, when the victim had not considered doing so.
For us to understand each other, telling someone “you should die” is not enough to incur the type of induction to suicide, but constantly crushing him to put that idea in his head yes, and this is where many cyberbullying behaviors fit in. With this in mind, and after seeing the seriousness of the cases that have been occurring in recent years, as well as their fatal consequences, I believe that we need a “heavy hand” applied both to a reform of the criminal law and of the control of the main social networks.
Someone may tell me that this would be a form of censorship, but they would be totally wrong, because freedom of expression is limited by other fundamental rights, such as the right to honor. If you, from your point of view, believe that insulting and harassing on the Internet fit into the concept of freedom of expression, you have a problem, and a quite serious one.
I think my position is quite clear, but here the protagonists are you, and for that reason orI invite you to leave us your opinion in the comments. we read each other
