First-known TikTok mob attack led by middle schoolers tormenting teachers

https://midwest.social/post/14300049

First-known TikTok mob attack led by middle schoolers tormenting teachers - midwest.social

A bunch of eighth graders in a “wealthy Philadelphia suburb” recently targeted teachers with an extreme online harassment campaign that The New York Times reported was “the first known group TikTok attack of its kind by middle schoolers on their teachers in the United States.” According to The Times, the Great Valley Middle School students created at least 22 fake accounts impersonating about 20 teachers in offensive ways. The fake accounts portrayed long-time, dedicated teachers sharing “pedophilia innuendo, racist memes,” and homophobic posts, as well as posts fabricating “sexual hookups among teachers.”

If my kids did that I’d be perfectly fine with them getting kicked out of school or even press charges. I know teachers can be shitty but this is completely uncalled for unless they were actually doing those things
Because the ends justify the means?
What do you mean with your question? What those students did is slander and mobbing. Those are prosecutable offenses.

slander and mobbing. Those are prosecutable offenses.

No they aren’t. Slander is a civil tort (not criminal / not prosecutable), and “Mobbing” isn’t even a legal term, but to the best of my understanding is synonymous with “assembling”, which is constitutionally protected.

At worst, a student could be sued by a teacher, and these are middle schoolers, so it would be the parents being sued.

I think “assembling” in this context refers to collecting personal information about someone with the intend to steal someones identity. So yes, I guess the teachers could maybe sue for identity theft or online impersonation as well even if creating a fake social media profile for someone without their knowledge in itself does not seem to be a crime on a federal level. There seem to be some state laws concerning this tho - in Texas for example that can be a felony if I get this right. But also yes, that should be the parents’ problem, since minors are not criminally liable.
The Texas Online Impersonation Law | Penal Code §33.07

[Updated for 2023] This article provides in-depth legal analysis of the Texas Online Impersonation law in Penal Code §33.07. Learn more here.

Saputo Toufexis | Criminal Defense
Identity theft is really only limited to contract law, not social impersonation. This would still be libel / slander.
If so the kids seem to just got lucky in that regard. There seems to be or at least there was a bill in Pennsylvania that would make online impersonation a crime with a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a 5000$ fine. I assume that this story is likely to fuel the discussion about this bill again, if it has not already been enacted into law yet.
Online impersonation on path to become Pa.’s newest crime

HARRISBURG – On the Internet, no one really knows who could be on the other side of the screen. But pretending to be someone you’re not online could soon be a crime in Pennsylvania. Thi…

The Mercury