The rising threat of “cyberbullying”
and “sexting” will go under the microscope under a proposal by state Sen.
Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing.
Whitmer today is asking Senate and House committees to
investigate ways to protect young from these forms of digital abuse – in which
teen-agers can be subjected to abusive comments on such sites as Facebook or
sexual pictures sent by acquaintances.
Whitmer noted that half of 14
to 24-year olds have experienced some sort of digital abuse, and nearly a third
have either sent or received nude photos on their cell phone or online, according
to a recent poll by the Associated Press and MTV. In January, authorities
investigated reports of sixth graders in DeWitt who shared explicit photos by
cell phone.
Whitmer, who serves on the Senate
Judiciary and Education committees, is working on legislation that would
provide additional safeguards, aid for parents to take a more active role and
guidelines for schools and law enforcement to handle these situations.
“As a mother of two girls, the emerging danger
of digital abuse sickens me, but also strengthens my resolve to tackle the
problem head on,” Whitmer said.
Digital abuse, of course, is
a problem that every parent should be concerned about. It will be
interesting to see how the state addresses the threat without trampling free
speech on the Internet.
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