The Story

The story of Amanda Todd began just like all cyber bullying stories
begin.Amanda was born in 1996 in British Columbia, Canada, andwas a happy
easy going person, until she was introduced to an anonymous person on
Facebook who flattered her so much tothe point of convincing her to flash
her topless body to him. A year later, the same person or another anonymous
person sent her the picture and it went viral, creating a mass of bullying and
teasing to the point that she had to change schools several times. Her
reputation was ruined, she had no friends, she was beaten up by some
classmates, she tried drinking bleach but was saved at the last minute. Months
later, Amanda Toddtook her own life.
After her death, her Youtube video went viral to the point of reachingmore
than 17 million views. People were shocked when theylearned about the
Amanda Todd Story and reached out to her family. The authorities began a
mass inquiry especially with the inspiration and the help of Amandas bullying
video.To the shock of everyone, the hate campaign continuedonline after
Amandas passing, people ridiculed her suicide and made fun of the entire
story, they even said she deserved what had happened to her. The cyber
bullying continued despite appeals for people to see the real tragedy behind
Amandas death. The famous Anonymous hacking group even went on a
massive search to defend Amanda and find the person who tormented and
blackmailed her online but the authorities did not see him as a person of
interest in the case.
The truth remains that people who bullied and tormented Amanda still walk
the streets everyday thinking their hate and actions mean nothing while in
fact every comment they have made about her while she was alive or after her
death, brings so much pain to the people who loved her. Remember that
words do hurt and scar, sometimes beyond repair.

2014 Update on The Amanda Todd Cyber Bullying

Story
Suspect Found!

According to the BBC,A 35-year-old man was officially charged in April 2014
in the Netherlands in connection with Amanda Todds suicide.
According to the Canadian police, the unidentified suspect was charged with
extortion, internet luring, criminal harassment and child pornography,
Canadian police say. The Police also mentioned the suspect is involved in
other abuse cases and not just the Amanda story.
The Dutch newspaper Omroep Brabant reports materials seized at the
suspects home put him in suspicion of other cases of online abuse involving
in the Netherlands, the UK and the US.
Today marks a major milestone in our investigation, said Inspector Paulette
Friel of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A suspect has been identified, he
has been arrested and he has been charged.
The suspicions against the man are that he approached underage girls via
the internet and then seduced them into performing sexual acts in front of a
webcam, Dutch prosecutors said in a statement, quoted by AP.
Suspected targets include men who were allegedly convinced the man was an
underage boy and were persuaded into performing sexual acts on camera.
It took police almost two years to find only one suspect in the Amanda Todd
cyber bullying case. It is to be remembered, that there are thousands of child
predators in online chat rooms who are taking advantage of sweet young boys
and girls everyday. This is whyAmanda Todds story should serve as a wake up
call for children everywhere.
Carol Todd, Amandas Mother says that the rise in cyber bullying is happening
due to the rise in social media platforms that allow the user to remain
anonymous which makes the bully anonymous.
Technology has ramped it up so much that there are no boundaries, Todd
said. Its so faceless and they are free to say whatever, theyre free to say and
do whatever without thinking about it. It is worth noting here that the origin
of Amandas story started when, according to Amandas viral Youtube video,
she had been coerced online in 2010 to flash her breasts, and the resulting
image was used against her and circulated on the Web and at school.
The picture was put out there on the Internet and then all of a sudden, her
peers started harassing her, both face-to-face bullying and online, so she had
to endure that kind of abuse, Todd said to Foxnews. She was afraid to go to

school, people were looking at her, she developed more depression, social
anxiety. She was afraid people were watching her all the time.
It is worth mentioning that in Canada, the criminal codes general harassment
provision includes the prosecution of cyber bullying. Many U.S. States have
also incorporated laws that specifically target cyber bullying and harassment.
With the cyber bullying Amanda Todd and other victims in Canada endured,
the Canadian parliament suggested Bill C-13. This bill was designed to help
prevent children from online bullying. However, it did not pass due to several
key issues. First of all, the bill would have completely overhauled the entire
system, allowing the police and other government agencies to no longer need
warrants from a federal or state judge in order to monitor the movements and
actions of a person online. Opponents of the bill pointed out it really did not
keep children safe, but instead would just give the police additional powers to
monitor Internet usage. With the current spying issues with the United States
and other countries around the world, there is a large distrust for the amount
of monitoring the government is allowed to do on individuals who use the
Internet. This is the major reason Bill C13 did not pass.