A course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes
substantial emotional distress in such person and serves no legitimate
purpose" or "Words, gestures, and actions which tend to annoy, alarm
and abuse (verbally) another person
Make no
mistake: this kind of harassment can be as frightening and as
real as being followed and watched in your neighborhood or in your
home."
Former Vice
President Al Gore
Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other
electronic means to stalk someone which may be a computer crime or
harassment.
This term is used interchangeably with online harassment and online
abuse. The anonymity of online interaction reduces the chance of
identification and makes cyberstalking more common than physical
stalking. Although cyberstalking might seem relatively harmless, it
can cause victims psychological and emotional harm, and occasionally
leads to actual stalking.
Do not share personal information in public spaces anywhere
online, nor give it to strangers, including in e-mail or chat
rooms. Do not use your real name or nickname as your screen name
or user ID. Pick a name that is gender- and age-neutral. And do
not post personal information as part of any user profiles.
Be extremely cautious about meeting online acquaintances in
person. If you choose to meet, do so in a public place and take
along a friend.
Make sure
that your ISP and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network have an
acceptable use policy that prohibits cyberstalking. And if your
network fails to respond to your complaints, consider switching to
a provider that is more responsive to user complaints.
If a situation online becomes hostile, log off or surf elsewhere.
If a situation places you in fear, contact a local law enforcement
agency.
If you are receiving unwanted contact, make clear to that person
that you would like him or her not to contact you again.
Save all communications for evidence. Do not edit or alter them in
any way. Also, keep a record of your contacts with Internet system
administrators or law enforcement officials.
You may want to consider blocking or filtering messages from the
harasser. Many e-mail programs such as Eudora and Microsoft
Outlook have a filter feature, and software can be easily obtained
that will automatically delete e-mails from a particular e-mail
address or that contain offensive words. Chat room contact can be
blocked as well. Although formats differ, a common chat room
command to block someone would be to type: /ignore <person's
screen name> (without the brackets). However, in some
circumstances (such as threats of violence), it may be more
appropriate to save the information and contact law enforcement
authorities.
If harassment continues after you have asked the person to stop,
contact the harasser's Internet Service Provider (ISP). Most ISP's
have clear policies prohibiting the use of their services to abuse
another person. Often, an ISP can try to stop the conduct by
direct contact with the stalker or by closing their account. If
you receive abusive e-mails, identify the domain (after the "@"
sign) and contact that ISP. Most ISP's have an e-mail address such
as abuse@(domain name) or postmaster@(domain name) that can be
used for complaints. If the ISP has a website, visit it for
information on how to file a complaint.
Contact your
local police department and inform them of the situation in as
much detail as possible. In appropriate cases, they may refer the
matter to state or federal authorities. If you are afraid of
taking action, there are resources available to help you, Contact
either:
-The National Domestice Violence Hotline, 800-799-SAFE (phone);
800-787-3224 (TDD)
-A local women's shelter for advice and support.
In
the United States alone, there are currently more than 80 million
adults and 10 million children with access to the Internet.
More
than 1 million Americans are cyberstalked each year.
The
Los Angeles District Attorney's Office estimates that e-mail or
other form of electronic communication were a factor in
approximately 20 percent of the roughly 600 cases that were
handled by its Stalking and Threat Assessment Unit in 1999.
The
Computer Investigations and Technology Unit of the New York City
Police Department estimates that almost 40 percent of the caseload
in the unit involves electronic threats and harassment -- and
virtually all of these have occurred in the past three or four
years.
The
Manhattan District Attorney's Office estimates that about 20
percent of the cases they handled in 1999 involved cyberstalking.
One
major Internet Service Provider reports that they receive at least
15 complaints of Internet harassment each month.
