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Italy passes law to fight cyberbullying

Italy passes law to fight cyberbullying

Cyberbullying

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In a rare show of unity, the Chamber of Deputies passed the law with 432 votes in favour and just one abstention after a three-year passage through parliament

The Italian parliament on Wednesday passed a long-awaited law intended to tackle online bullying of children after several high-profile cases in which victims have committed suicide.

In a rare show of unity, the Chamber of Deputies passed the law with 432 votes in favour and just one abstention after a three-year passage through parliament.

"We dedicate this law to Carolina Picchio and all the other victims of cyberbullying," Chamber speaker Laura Boldrini said after the vote.

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Picchio, 14, threw herself from a third-floor window after cyber bullies circulated a sexually explicit video of her that they had filmed with their mobile telephones at a party.

The legislation provides a specific legal definition of cyberbullying for the first time in Italy, and requires all schools to educate pupils to use the Internet responsibly and to have a member of staff responsible for tackling the problem.

It makes it illegal to use the Internet to offend, slander, threaten or steal the identity of a minor, and allows the victim or their parent to demand that websites hosting abusive content remove it within 48 hours.

(Reuters)