What is Outing and Trickery

It is a broadly shared opinion that establishing the illegitimacy of cyberbullying is a primary action in combating it. In this regard, schools should openly declare that cyberbullying is not an acceptable or admissible behavior, and firm rules regarding this phenomenon should be implemented by them. In this chapter, the problem of setting anti-cyberbullying legal policies will be addressed. Two cases are illustrated and discussed, the famous case of Lori Drew related to the suicide of Megan Meier that occurred in 2006, and the Italian case of Tiziana Cantone whose suicide occurred 10 years later. In fact, the latter was not a cyberbullying case, but it is remarkable since it generated a huge emotional reaction among Italian people that ultimately led to the implementation of the Italian law against cyberbullying in 2017 and, in 2019, brought about the law against the unsolicited sharing of compromising erotic pictures or video, known as revenge porn. Both cases illustrate the issues that may arise in drawing effective anti-cyberbullying laws. The absence of a univocal definition of cyberbullying and the pressure of public opinion negatively affects the establishment of appropriate legal policies. Indeed, the formulation of a law implies unequivocally identifying an infraction and having clear rules to punish it. The current legal situation of cyberbullying in different countries is highlighted, focusing on the USA and Europe, and the general questions regarding the criminalization and punishment of cyberbullying are also analyzed. Finally, the use and positive influence of anti-cyberbullying regulations at schools are reviewed and discussed.