Judge: School can suspend students over fake MySpace profile

Judge: School can suspend students over fake MySpace profile:

"A federal judge has ruled that a Pennsylvania school can suspend two eighth-graders who created a fake MySpace profile of their principal depicting him as a pedophile and a sex addict, among other things. The September 11 ruling said the students' civil rights were not violated despite their actions taking place off school grounds because the language used on the profile was 'lewd and vulgar,' and because it was akin to speech that promoted illegal actions. Given the recent prevalence of fake MySpace profiles meant to taunt or harass others at school, this ruling could help decide future cases related to student speech online."

"...The combination of social networking sites, disliked school administrators, and perceived anonymity may be too tempting for some disgruntled students to resist, but this case demonstrates that there are limits to what students can say online."