MySpace suit challenges 'fake' online conduct

Being fake online is just as bad as being fake in person. Presenting yourself in a way that differs from reality just because people can't see you is low. More and more people are looking to sites like Facebook and MySpace to get what they perceive to be real information about people they are interested in, whether it be a friendship or a prospective employer.

In this particular case, I'd charge the mother that aided in this with manslaughter, at the least.

It's really very simple. If you create and use a fake ID for malicious or criminal purposes, that's bad. If you create and use a fake ID for non-malicious or non-criminal purposes, that's not bad. By the way, my name is not really Dale; call a cop.

I've used fakes for "investigative" purposes. Never actually used them to contact anyone, just for snooping.

And I'm glad I did. Found out things that I wouldn't have ever realized otherwise.

Lots of people create fake IDs. I've done it to protect my identity for privacy reasons. Every online service that you sign up for requires that you put in a first and last name to sign up. There is no "anonymous" capability and anyone can look at your profile to see your name. If you use a real name there, you are open to internet bullying, and potential stalker situations.

The key is to be real online, regardless of what name you use to build a profile. Be honest with people, don't portray yourself as something you aren't (something law enforcement is getting very good at to catch predators). It's especially important to be honest with kids online, should you choose to talk to them. Kids can be very impressionable. I believe all adults who maintain an online presence also bear responsibility to look out for the kids who do, to ensure they are not exploited or bullied. We're all in this world together, and we adults should ensure we set a good example to kids.

Using fake ID for criminal purposes is criminal. The woman who did what she did was certainly wrong, and the result was a child's life was ended. I'm not a prosecutor, so I couldn't say what would be the most appropriate charge against her, but evidently someone has decided, as she's now been indicted.

Its up to all of us to make the internet a civil place, just like its up to all of us to make our neighborhoods, towns, and nations civil places.

Most websites that you put information into also allow you to create an alias name to go by. There is no reason to have to fake who you are. I believe that mother should be prosecuted. She did a horrible thing.

And I suppose your name is really "Michelle"! (lol)

MySpace specifically says that the user MUST be 14 years of age and unfortunately this poor girl was only 13, why did she have a MySpace page at all? If someone is going to place a profile page on-line it needs to be the actual person, what this women did is no different then an Adult Male portraying himself as a teenager and setting up meetings with underage children. The mother should be prosecuted, I agree with some of the comments already posted..she did a HORRIBLE thing. It's hard enough getting your heart broken by someone REAL..let alone someone FAKE!

Using a fake name online is not the issue here. Fake names are used to provide anonymity not to harass. And when an adult talks to a child the bar is raised for what you can say. Pretending to be a child when you're not for the purpose of hurting that child is child abuse and all child abuse should be prosecuted with no mercy.

I have zero tolerance for the woman who did this. Whatever punishment she gets is probably lenient because it's a new field. An adult with such lack of control over her hostility should be behind bars for a very long time.

I am so glad that someone ( law enforcement ) brought charges against this lady. What she did was a criminal act. No less than pushing the girl off a cliff. I hope she gets the maximum sentence. In my opinion she is guilty of murder. I, too, have used fake names to register on some websites to protect myself from hackers, computer fraud, all the games. My computer was hacked once and I lost a ton of money from my bank when hackers attacked my computer. I don't use MYSpace, UTube or Facebook. I have no interest in chatting with anyong online. I am too busy during the day with telephone business to have any extracurricular chatting online.

I think anyone who misleads and uses fake id's and names are and should be ashamed of themselves. If you are so concerned about your privacy and and not wanting to be known, stay off chat sites and the Intenet. Then you are well protected. I think feel that the world is fast becoming a world of deciet and dishonesty. The woman who created the fake account and was actually at the core of the destruction of an innocent girl should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of every law they can find.The Internet is a world all its own. There are many Players who thrive on hurting others, you just have to be smarter than the norm...Limit what information you release into the cyber world..And Never fool yourself into thinking all the world is good..

What kind of parents pay so little attention to their children to not know that they're at risk of self-destruction for such a pathetic prank? When did it become mainstream to force the government to create policy to parent for us? Talk to your children once in awhile.

Yes the prank was sad, stupid, and the adult involved deserved a serious reality check, but you can't allow the government to tighten the reigns on free speech and criminalize anonymity and fake identities on the internet when plenty of people do it for plenty of reasons with kindness in their hearts.

It takes a certain kind of person to commit suicide, and you need to think about the issue as far larger than the final incident that may have set her off. Plenty of Real people are that mean or worse to one another on a daily basis, in person. There are plenty of reasons for a young girl to want to stop playing the sad little social games that we think are the end-all to our lives when we're that age and don't have parents decent enough to enlighten us. That's why kids snap, no one tells them that the bastards picking on them are going to grow up and be worthless like the parents that help them make fake myspace accounts.

There is certainly a lot more to this story than a faux myspace conversation. Think about the generalizations you are making, think about the fallacies in your induced arguments. Do some research, and stop talking out of your asses about something that scares you to death because you can't identify with any of the characters in the story, and would likewise rather pontificate on the internet than parent your children. You can't read a column about a novel, then pretend to know everything about it, and coolly jump on the bandwagon to promote irrational repercussions out of your confusion and ignorance. You can not have children, if you really don't want to raise them yourself and aren't willing to take the initiative to make certain they have some semblance of emotional durability in the real world.

Perhaps if you people's paradigms were a little more eloquent and enlightened, you wouldn't have philosophically blind children buckling under the pressures of inane social dramas. Read a book once in awhile, and discuss it with your children. If you are curious about what I have to say, or angry, please contact me, I am easy to find. I am a teacher, and I haven't forgotten what it's like to be a kid.

I have been registering for accounts using fake names for over 11 years. I don't believe that is what this issue should be dealing with however. Using an alias for fun, parody, or otherwise is harmless, entertaining and can help protect your privacy to some degree.

The only real issue here is whether or not this woman should be held responsible for this poor girl's demise. Should the law begin holding people responsible for the actions of others? It's a sad fact that the majority of us, both as children and adults endure plenty of verbal abuse both from our friends and in some cases our parents. Some children are mercilessly slammed by their peers and adults who make comments like the ones Lori Drew made to this young girl.

Though it is a young age, I believe that even at 13 years of age a child knows better. I did as many of my friends did too and some of them where told by adults to run away and die on a daily basis. These friends didn't run away and die however, they grew into successful adults. My point? The decision to kill herself whether teased, lauded, laughed at, told she was worthless and should die, was in fact her own.

As a parent myself I believe that while Ms. Drew acted in an extremely immature and cruel fashion, she should not be held liable for this girls death in any way. If somebody tells another human being that they should die, or that the world would be better off without them and then this person actually commits suicide, nobody is responsible for that death except for the person who has committed the act.

In an age where we often overreact and look for scapegoats I can see why everyone wants to hold this woman responsible for the actions of this girl however I believe prosecuting this woman for such a thing is wrong. Most of us are no strangers to death and when it hits home we often find ourselves looking for someone or something to point the finger at. I am not defending the actions of this poor excuse for an adult but even if Ms. Drew did send those messages and acted out of hate the fact remains that she did not kill this girl, nor did she force the girl to do anything she probably hadn't already thought of doing before. If she's guilty of anything Ms. Drew is guilty of being an a**hole, nothing more.

If this same girl had committed homicide instead of suicide there would be those who would urge the law to charge her as an adult and argue that "at 13 she's old enough to know better". Of course there would be those who claim something influenced or pushed her into such an action but the fact would remain that she made the choice to kill. So why is it that someone else is responsible for the taking of her own life but she'd be held responsible for the taking of somebody else's life?

Even at 13 years of age I feel that personal accountability should play a big factor here. Sadly though most people these days prefer to lay blame on other people, music, movies, TV, and the Internet rather than accept personal accountability because no one is responsible for themselves anymore are they?

"The fictitious boy made friends with Megan, who had battled ADD and depression and had entertained thoughts of suicide several years earlier."

Yep lets blame somebody else for this death, its obvious the girl was fine and would never entertain those kinds of thoughts on her own.

The issue is fake characters on a social web . I work in a school and most of the kids have a my space or face book page. All of them lie about their age ( all want to be older of course) and several of them eventually got hurt or used by somebody because the parents were not inform or have the know how of how to manage this web sites. My space and Face book use the honor system nobody is going to abuse it (ya sure ) and most parents have little control.
As for the girl yeah she was a teenager and an adult mentally abuse the kid to the point of killing her.

What no one else seems to be considering here is the insanely persuasive power of peer pressure. Yeah, I know it's not all it's cracked up to be for teens whose friends are "always telling me to drink" and "there's nothing I can do". But a 13-year old girl is not a teen yet, she is still in a very malleable stage where everything someone says to her, complete stranger, friend, crush, etc, will be locked in her brain forever. The suggestive power of the comments that woman made to her in the guise of a friend would have eaten at her all the time.
Yes, she was battling ADD and depression. Yes, she had entertained thoughts of suicide. But she hadn't done it yet had she? It takes an action to send a person over the edge, and that action was hateful and malicious, and especially so coming from an adult who should know better! Legal action should definitely be taken against her, and she should be put behind bars.
As to the issue of fake names, I want my privacy. I do not want to put my identity and self out for everyone to search for, see, and exploit. What's next if this is made illegal? No pen names for authors (Mark Twain published as Samuel Clemens??) or stage names for actors?? And the government would be on a very slippery slope, as if fake online identities were outlawed, then all the police/detectives posing to catch internet predators would be breaking the law.

The issue here is not "is it wrong to use a fake name" the issue is "is this woman's behavior with her fake name wrong". The short answer is yes, what she did is just as wrong as any grown man using a fake ID to solicit children. I use a fake screen name on MySpace, I like my anonymity. I think I am entitled to it. I don't want to be harassed by strangers on line, or by people I know for that matter. At the same time I don't think I have the right to be stalking someones 13 year old child either. In a very real sense that's what this woman was doing, she was stalking this child, at least as defined by law here in IL.

For an actual charge of stalking - the said stalker Must commit the following act's-- places said stalkee under surveillance AND MUST have intent to harm the stalkee.

I don't think using a fake ID is wrong when it comes to sites like MySpace, Brad Paisley even wrote a song about it called "On Line" poking fun at how people do just that, make up things about them self's.

I think what we need to be addressing here is how her fake account was used. When used to maintain a level of personal privacy its excusable when its used by extension to further a criminal act that's when it needs to be stopped. If we say that no one can use a fake account at any time on sites such as MySpace where will that leave law enforcement who use fake accounts to trap perverts.

The law needs to catch up to the technologies out there, that's a fact. Just short of that the law will have to adapt to allow prosecution of this sort of behavior.

I think the thing that disturbs me the most is that the woman was so "concerned" about what may or may not have been said about her daughter that she went to what I know was a time consuming effort to create this fake page just to spy on this other girl. It strikes me as a very childish and high school thing to do and I question if this woman is in her right mind for being so obsessive. This wasn't a 5 minuet project that she just sat down and did. It took time and effort to put it together to make it look real and convincing. Registering a fake email address to allow her to register the fake page and adding HTML codes for layout and graphics to make it look like a teenagers page just to start with then creating all of the personal information about the person such as likes, dislikes, and hobbies the list goes on. When I look at my own page and the amount of information I have personalized it with it boggles my mind that she sat down and did this, this was no whim. She had a clear and planed intent and it was cruel and sadistic in nature. That's whats at issue here and that's what needs to be prosecuted.

All the people saying that you think we shouldn't be allowed to use fake names, give me your real entire names. I'm going to search for all of your profiles, then spam and stalk you. We'll see just how many problems it can cause and then your opinion may change.

It does depend on the site in question. I know of site that revolve around Roleplaying, so player create "fake" accounts for their characters.

It is not wrong Persay, when you look at the activity in the context of the site.

With this case, The child was being monitored, the parents were actively watching her usage. How much more could they have done? It is hard to say. However, for an adult, and a parent in her own right, to knowingly target and harass a child like this is beyond tolerance.

Oh please, the people who use fake names, fake pics, and fake lives online, which about 80 percent of online users do, are usually a lot older, married, fatter, and not so attractive as the person they portray in their fantasy world. The main reason they use fake names is because it's very simple to look up their name and location and you will get their real age and marital status. The reason they use fake pics is obvious, no one would give them the time of day if they posted their real ones. People who do this say there is nothing wrong with what they are doing, but unfortunately, they usually end up hurting someone they lead on with their lies, time and time again. It has nothing to do about identity theft.

I want to know why this woman was not charged with child abuse leading to the death of a child? *That* is the appropriate charge to file against her.

The only reason that the FBI wants to test this case in this manner is so they can demolish what little anonymity we have left in the police state that George W. Bush has constructed.

Using a false identity online should not be against the law unless the person is doing so to commit a crime. This woman should be held responsible and accountable for bullying a child. She should not be held responsible for the child's death any more than some friend who might tell the girl to "drop dead" would be responsible. The woman needs counseling; she is obviously immature and perhaps too wrapped up in her own child's life to have one of her own. Sometimes adults forget that their job is to nurture.

We tell our kids to be careful what they put online. Don't make it easy for someone to learn about your personal information.

Well my friends, all that is out the window for our kids and ourselves.

There is a company (and there are probably more) that is scanning the Internet, especially blogs, and making all of our information public and even provide links to all the sites we use.

I found my name, age, town that I live in and links to most of my blog accounts. They even assign a "reputation" score to me.

Luckily I try to watch what I post, but still, I've written things with the belief that what I'm writing is, for the general public, anonymous.

How can this be legal?

The site offering this 'service', I call "invasion of privacy" is www.rapleaf.com

They use your email address to search for you so I would warn against entering your address to see what they have on you. If they don't have your email address yet, entering it in on their site make give it to them to look for later.

I have an email address that I use for signing up to anything I think will produce spam. You'd be surprised the rubbish that ends up there. If I used my ordinary email accounts then I'd be forever deleting dross. Don't think there's any deception there though as it is my email account and genuine. It just doesn't get looked at often.

I have been waiting to hear how this case turns out. Does anyone know where it stands right now? I want this precedent set in motion so families can legally charge the group known as "perverted justice" with whatever they decide to charge this woman with. Perverted justice has lied and deceived citizens on the internet and has caused quite a few suicides. So maybe there will be help for these families, as well