With Canadians spending increased time on social media platforms, cyberbullying has skyrocketed with 71% of young Canadians reporting seeing online hate content. Criminal and civil laws offer ways to deal with it.
Cyberbullying on social media has become a major problem in the 21st century. Social media platforms are virtual gathering places that allow individuals and organizations to communicate with others.
Through social media, Canada is one of the most connected countries in the world. Nearly all (94%) Canadian adults have an account on at least one social media platform. Adolescents are also spending an increasing amount of time on social media platforms. In 2022, 91% of Canadians aged 15 to 24 used social media platforms. The increased use of social media has led to more opportunities for online bullying, or cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying among youth
In the past, bullying took place in person. However, with the rise of smartphones and social media platforms, bullying has become a 24/7 issue. Within a 12-month period, 71% of young Canadians reported seeing online hate content.
Cyberbullying takes many forms, with the goal of embarrassing, mocking, threatening, or being mean to someone online. Methods of cyberbullying including:
- Harassment: repeatedly sending hurtful messages or threats
- Doxxing: publishing private information about someone without consent
- Impersonation: creating fake profiles to hurt someone’s reputation
- Exclusion: deliberately excluding someone from online groups or communities
Cyberbullying negatively affects all those involved including victims, bystanders, and perpetrators. Victimization can lead to a greater risk of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. In 2019, 1 in 4 youth aged 12 to 17 reported being cyberbullied in the previous year. The risk of being cyberbullied is higher among marginalized groups. For example, over half of non-binary youth aged 12 to 17 reported being cyberbullied.
Criminal offences related to cyberbullying
In Canada’s criminal justice system, Crown prosecutors prosecute crimes on behalf of society. Canada’s Criminal Code doesn’t have a specific offence for cyberbullying or bullying in general. However, cyberbullying can fall within the scope of several offences.
Criminal harassment: In Canada, engaging in harassing conduct is an offence. Examples of harassing behaviour include repeatedly following another person, continuously communicating with another person, watching over where someone lives or works, and threatening someone.
Telecommunication offences, including harassing communication: In Canada, using telecommunication methods, such as phones and the internet, for certain improper purposes is an offence. For example, someone is guilty of this offense if they repeatedly contact another person using a phone with the intent to harass the other person.
Defamatory libel: A person is guilty of this offence if they permanently publish a false or misleading statement that damages another’s reputation and exposes them to hatred, contempt or ridicule. This includes statements made in writing and on social media.
Uttering threats: This offence involves knowingly making, conveying or causing any person to receive a threat. Common examples include threatening to cause another person’s death or to harm them. A person guilty of this offence can make these threats in person or communicate them through social media posts and comments.
Sharing of intimate pictures without consent: It is a criminal offence to share intimate images of someone without their consent. An intimate image is one that shows a person who is nude, or exposing their genitals, anal region or breasts. It also includes an image showing a person engaging in explicit sexual activity. These images can take the form of photographs, film, or video recording. A person is guilty of this offence if they knowingly publish, send, sell, make available, or advertise an intimate image. A key element of this offence is that the person shown in the image must have had a reasonable expectation of privacy at the time the image was created.
Identity fraud: In Canada, it is a crime to impersonate someone else, whether that person is living or deceased, with fraudulent intent. This intent can include gaining an advantage, obtaining property, causing harm to another person, evading arrest or prosecution, or obstructing, perverting or undermining the course of justice.
The police can receive reports about and investigate cyberbullying. They will decide whether they can lay charges. A person guilty of bullying may be fined or sentenced to jail, or both.
Civil liability for cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can also lead to civil liability. In civil law cases, the person who experiences harm (the plaintiff) sues the person who caused the harm (the defendant). If the court finds the defendant is liable, they can order the defendant to pay damages (money) to the plaintiff.
Defamation: The common claim happens when someone deliberately spreads a false statement that harms another person’s reputation.
Tort of harassment: The Alberta Court of King’s Bench recognized this tort in the 2023 case of Alberta Health Services v Johnston. (Note: The Court of Appeal has not yet recognized this tort and could potentially overturn this decision if they see fit.) An individual has committed the tort of harassment, including cyberbullying, if they:
- engage in repeated communications, threats, insults, stalking, or other harassing behaviour in person or in some other way,
- that they knew or should have known was unwelcome,
- which criticize the plaintiff’s dignity, would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of their loved ones, or could foreseeably cause emotional distress, and
- caused harm.
Privacy torts: Other torts related to privacy may apply to cyberbullying. For example, in 2021 Alberta recognized the tort of public disclosure of private facts. This tort protects individuals’ privacy interests in sensitive information, which includes financial, sexual, relationship, and health information. It holds a person liable for publishing private facts about someone that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, if done without the individual’s consent.
Discrimination: Sometimes cyberbullying is a form of discrimination. Human rights laws protect against discrimination in protected areas and based on protected grounds, including race, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. As mentioned above, disabled, racialized, and LGBTQ Canadians are disproportionately targets of cyberbullying. Depending on where the discrimination takes place, the Alberta Human Rights Commission can receive and deal with human rights complaints.
Internal policies to address cyberbullying
If cyberbullying happens at school or work, there may be rules that apply in those spaces.
For example, all provinces and territories, except Nunavut, either directly address cyberbullying or require school boards and schools to address cyberbullying in their codes of conduct or related policies.
Many workplaces have policies that say bullying and harassment are not tolerated. The policy may set out a process for reporting and dealing with concerns. Management may discipline or terminate an employee who engages in bullying, including cyberbullying.
What to do if you are a being cyberbullied
Below are steps you can take if you are experiencing cyberbullying.
Keep records: Keep notes about the harassment. Take screenshots and save messages. This will make it easier to report the bully.
Seek support: Cyberbullying can negatively impact mental health. Reach out to friends, family, or a mental health professional for help. Contact Alberta 211 to find supports near you.
Block the bully: Most social media platforms allow you to block users, preventing them from contacting you directly.
Report the bullying to the social media platform: Cyberbullying violates the terms of service on most social media platforms. For example, Instagram has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. If you report an incident, their team will review it and may take action, such as banning the bully.
Contact the police: When cyberbullying involves threats, harassment, or other criminal behaviour, report it to the police. They can investigate and lay charges.
Talk to a lawyer: A lawyer can help you understand your legal options, including starting a civil lawsuit.
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DISCLAIMER The information in this article was correct at time of publishing. The law may have changed since then. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of LawNow or the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta.
About Megan Pratt
