Nova Scotia cyberbullying law goes to court

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s unique law intended to crack down on cyberbullying will be tested in a Halifax courtroom for the first time later Tuesday.

The case under the Cyber-safety Act centres on allegations by Andrea Paul, the chief of the Pictou Landing First Nation, who says Christopher George Prosper was posting negative and threatening comments about her and her family on Facebook.

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Paul contacted the CyberSCAN unit, the first of its kind in the country to be tasked with investigating all complaints of cyberbullying in the province.

She is seeking a prevention order against him, which says he should remove all messages about her deemed to be cyberbullying, not contact her and refrain from cyberbullying.

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None of the allegations in the case has been proven in court.

The law was passed after the case of Rehtaeh Parsons, who was taken off life-support last April after a suicide attempt.

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Her family says the 17-year-old was subjected to months of bullying after a digital photo of her allegedly being sexually assaulted in November 2011 was passed around her school.