Tina Meier talks to momlogic.
Last week, a federal judge tentatively threw out the convictions of Missouri mom Lori Drew, who had been charged with fraud in connection with a fake MySpace page targeting her 13-year-old neighbor, Megan Meier. Megan Meier later committed suicide.
Megan's mom, Tina Meier, talks to momlogic about this shocking ruling.
momlogic: When did you find out about the judge's decision, and what was your reaction?
Tina Meier: The decision came down on Thursday, July 2nd. I feel aggravation and disappointment. I truly feel that the message the judge is sending out is a bad one. It's stating that if we as individuals use the Internet and don't read the terms of service, we can still make a false profile, harass someone, impersonate someone, and do whatever we want ... and if something happens, we are not held liable because we didn't read the terms of service. This is a horrible message to be sending sexual predators, husbands, wives, exes, and anyone who wants to cause harm or get revenge on someone else. Now, what I am doing with the Megan Meier Foundation is asking anyone who disagrees with the judge's decision to please contact the judge's court clerk and let him know why you disagree. The judge's decision is not 100% until it's in writing. I am not sure when that will be, so I am asking people to write him as soon as possible. The AP did an article right after the decision and they did an online survey asking how many people agreed with the ruling. Over 90,000 people clicked on the survey and over 89% disagreed. These are people who use the Internet. We need to stand up and protect our children. This is one step towards asking the judge to do something positive and set a precedent.
ML: Where will you go from here?
Tina: I am fighting to let the judge know there are people out there who disagree with his ruling. If he doesn't read the letters or listen, then there is nothing more I can do, but we need to get our voices heard. The jury found Lori Drew guilty, but he threw out the decision and now she goes free. Right now, the decision is still tentative until it's in writing, which is again why I am asking people to write the judge as soon as possible.
I can't let this decision stop the course I am on. I am going to continue to get out there. There are two components. The first is legislative. There is a federal bill out there that has been proposed by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez in California. We need a law that will state if you use the Internet to harm or harass someone, you need to be held accountable -- just like when you drink and drive and kill an innocent family on the road, you need to be held responsible. On the federal level, it will cover everyone, and not just go state by state. The second component is to get into the schools and continue to talk and educate the kids, parents, educators, etc. We need kids to understand the effects this has on others, when they get into arguments or harass each other online. I want to show them real life stories of how people have taken their lives when this could have been prevented.
Do you think the judge's decision should be overruled? Comment below.
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