Judicial answers to cyber intimidation and sexting

The availability and usage of social networking sites provide both possibilities and dangers for their young users, depending on their circumstances. Using the examples of (cyber)bullying and sexting, this essay examines the relevance of the existing legal framework to these two kinds of (possibly harmful) behaviour that are increasingly happening amongst peers in the social networking environment. It includes a mapping of applicable legislative provisions at the European and national levels, an analysis of the Terms of Service of the largest social networking provider, Facebook, as well as an overview and assessment of self-regulatory initiatives taken by the industry in this area in Europe, among other things. Overall, the aim is to establish a number of components for a complete plan to make certain that the dangers of (cyber)bullying and sexting are addressed in a way that empowers young users.