by Chris Cannon

Created on: August 29, 2011   Last Updated: September 01, 2011

Cyberstalking in the United Kingdom was classified in 1998 as illegal following the introduction of the Malicious Communications Act, however many things have changed since 1998 in the online world, which to the greatest of extents leaves these laws outdated, not inclusive of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, which the courts have a tendency to steer clear of, in fact, many Police Constables will kindly request that a victim 'unfriends' the perpetrator, instead of taking further action themselves.

Cyberstalkers can be after many different things, some of which are classified as illegal, others which are not, with one of the more common being to 'groom' young people, something that is heard about nearly every day. This is a tricky area of law, as by talking to young individuals there is no breach of the law, even meeting with these individuals is seen as legal, however in many cases, it can be dependent on whether there is any proof of intent to take this 'friendship' further that would give cause to prosecute, which is also a tricky area in most circumstances. No proof should mean no conviction; however, in many circumstances, this is simply not the case.

Another highly related area in the trail is the attempt to gather information on an individual, whether this is for personal or commercial gain. Allegations may be posted online in publicly accessible areas, such as Wikipedia and again on social networks. Many cases of information gathering involve third-parties, with phone numbers and addresses posted in order to get others to join the pursuit. One notable case of this was Jess Cooper, who advertised her 16th birthday party online, including her address and mobile number, gaining over 200,000 attendees. When the original page was removed, tens of pages started to appear in this place, again stating the name, address and phone number of Jessica. Not only was this highly embarrassing, it hit news in both Australia and further afield, almost 'baiting' the situation.

A case of 'subscriptions' can be important in these cases, with a tendency for stalkers to order items such as pornography and sex toys, having them delivered to the victim's workplace. This is one of the more serious offences, because it could cost a victim their job and friends, as well as creating an openness for possible discrimination from higher-ups, who may exploit the situation in turn for promotion or sexual activity. At this point, the matter should be classed as harassment straight away, as embarrassment could be considered sexual harassment. 

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