For years women have been coming forward with stories about online harassment that clearly shows the real-world effects of virtual harassment that is often casually dismissed with “Ignore the trolls.” Is there one case that illustrates particularly well the difference between trolling and cyberharassment?
My book truly deals with actionable harassment, not abuse that cannot be regulated (often called “trolling,” a loose term). Consider one of the earliest cases, of game developer and blogger Kathy Sierra, where there are repeated credible threats of rape, doctored photographs of her being strangled, and lies about her. Then, a cybermob posted her Social Security number and home address, as well as defamatory lies about her. Whoever was responsible for those actions, even just some of them, would be treading on legal grounds –we can regulate true threats, defamation and certain privacy disclosures such as the disclosure of SSNs (which is like publishing your bank account number). To be sure, some of the folks who doxxed Sierra and published her SSN were self-proclaimed trolls, but nonetheless they engaged in unprotected activity by spreading defamatory lies and publishing her SSN.
Read the full interview at Salon.
- Date Published:09/02/2014
- Original Publication:Salon