Aiming to Prevent Teen Suicides, Year-Old Law Gets Edited

Tennessee’s law against online bullying is getting a partial rewrite to make sure it holds up in court. The lawmaker behind this year’s update says it’s a necessary step toward dealing with an evolving problem.

Murfreesboro Senator Bill Ketron says the need for a law is clear. He points to two teenage suicides close to Nashville in the last six months, blaming cyber-bullying for both. What’s less clear is how to tamp down on hard words, without stepping on free-speech rights. Ketron says the problem evolves with technology.

“When I was in school, people used to write some girl’s name on the bathroom wall with a telephone number, and now they write it on a Facebook wall and it goes global.”

The law passed last year used terms that are hard to pin down legally, like “frighten” and “emotional distress.” The new version instead uses the more concrete word “threaten.”

Kids convicted in juvenile court could face up to 30 days community service. Asked whether the law’s success might be measured with fewer deaths a year from now, Ketron answered “never say never. It still can happen.”