Cyberbullying Laws: What the Law Says and What You Can Do

Cyberbullying laws in the US are mostly state laws. Every state has a bullying law or policy that tells schools how to handle bullying, and many of them explicitly cover electronic harassment, including behavior that happens off campus. There is no single federal cyberbullying crime, but when online bullying involves threats, stalking, harassment, extortion or sharing intimate images, criminal laws at the state and federal level can apply.

This guide explains how those layers fit together, so you can tell which rules apply to your situation and who has the power to act. It’s general information, not legal advice. For a specific case, talk to a lawyer or a local legal aid organization, and if anyone is in danger, call the police first.

The short version: three layers of law

Most cyberbullying situations touch one or more of these layers. Knowing which one fits tells you where to report.

Layer	What it covers	Who acts on it
State anti-bullying laws	How schools must prevent, investigate and respond to bullying between students, often including electronic bullying	The school or school district
Criminal laws (state and federal)	Threats, stalking, harassment, extortion, non-consensual intimate images, and in some states cyberbullying itself	Police and prosecutors
Civil law	Defamation, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and statutory claims for intimate images	A court, through a lawsuit you or your lawyer bring

Alongside the law, every major platform has its own rules against bullying and harassment. Platform reports are often the fastest way to get content down, even when no law has been broken. Our guide on how to stop cyberbullying covers those practical steps; this guide focuses on the legal side.

State anti-bullying laws and schools

All 50 states have laws, policies or both that address bullying in schools, according to the federal government’s StopBullying.gov site. They vary a lot, but most share a few features:

• A definition of bullying, usually repeated or severe behavior that harms a student or creates a hostile environment at school.
• Coverage of electronic communication. Many state laws name cyberbullying or electronic harassment directly, and some let schools act on off-campus online behavior when it disrupts school or affects a student’s ability to learn.
• A requirement for school policies that set out how students and parents report bullying, how the school investigates, and what consequences apply.
• Staff duties, such as training, reporting incidents to administrators, and notifying parents.

Most state bullying laws put obligations on schools, not criminal penalties on students. In practice, that means the school’s written bullying policy is usually the most useful document you can read. Ask the school for it, or find it in the student handbook or on the district website.

Off-campus online behavior

Much cyberbullying happens at night, on personal phones, far from school grounds. Schools can often still respond. In Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021), the US Supreme Court held that schools have a reduced but real interest in regulating off-campus student speech, and it named serious bullying, harassment and threats aimed at particular students as situations where that interest can remain. State law and the district’s own policy shape how far a school will go.

When federal civil rights laws apply

If bullying targets a student because of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or religion, it can also be harassment that federal civil rights laws require schools to address. Schools that receive federal funding have duties under laws such as Title VI, Title IX and disability rights laws. If a school fails to respond, families can file a complaint with the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and a lawyer can advise on other options.

When cyberbullying becomes a crime

Being mean online is not usually a crime. Behavior crosses into criminal territory when it meets the definition of an existing offense. The most common ones are:

• Threats. Threatening to hurt or kill someone is a crime in every state, and threats sent across state lines can also be a federal offense.
• Stalking and cyberstalking. A pattern of conduct that makes a person fear for their safety or causes substantial emotional distress. Every state has stalking laws, and the federal stalking statute covers conduct using the internet. Our cyberstalking guide explains how to document and report it.
• Harassment. Most states have harassment laws that cover repeated communications meant to alarm, annoy or torment someone, and many specifically include electronic communication.
• Extortion and sextortion. Demanding money, images or anything else under threat of exposing someone.
• Non-consensual intimate images. Sharing sexual images of someone without consent is illegal in every state, and the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed in 2025, makes it a federal crime to knowingly publish them, including realistic AI-generated fakes.
• Sexual images of minors. Creating, possessing or sharing sexual images of anyone under 18 is a serious crime under federal and state law, even when the person sharing is also a minor.

Some states have also passed laws that make cyberbullying, or electronic harassment of a minor, a specific offense, often a misdemeanor. Juvenile courts usually handle cases involving young people, and outcomes for students often focus on diversion, counseling or school discipline rather than criminal records.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act and intimate images

The TAKE IT DOWN Act is the most important recent federal law for one specific kind of cyberbullying: sharing intimate images, real or AI-generated, without consent. It does two main things:

1. It makes knowingly publishing non-consensual intimate imagery a federal crime, with specific provisions for images of minors and for realistic computer-generated fakes.
2. It requires covered platforms, such as social media and image-sharing sites, to offer a removal process and take the content down after a valid request, generally within 48 hours.

If intimate images are part of what’s happening, follow our step-by-step guide on removing intimate images shared without consent. If the images show someone under 18, don’t screenshot, save or forward them, even as evidence. Record the links, report them to the platform and to NCMEC’s CyberTipline, and use NCMEC’s Take It Down service.

Civil options: suing over cyberbullying

Separate from criminal charges, the person being targeted (or a parent on behalf of a child) may be able to bring a civil lawsuit. Depending on the facts and the state, possible claims include:

• Defamation, if the bully published false statements of fact that damaged the person’s reputation. Our guide to defamation of character explains what has to be shown.
• Invasion of privacy, such as publicly disclosing private facts.
• Intentional infliction of emotional distress, for extreme and outrageous conduct.
• A federal civil claim for the non-consensual disclosure of intimate images, which lets people sue the person who shared them.

Lawsuits take time, cost money and can bring more attention to the content. They make most sense when the harm is serious, the person responsible can be identified, and other routes have failed. A lawyer can tell you whether a claim is realistic.

Why you usually can’t sue the platform

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act generally protects platforms from liability for content their users post. That’s why the realistic targets of legal action are the people who posted the content, and why platform reports rely on the platform’s own rules rather than the law. The TAKE IT DOWN Act is a notable exception for intimate images, because it creates a specific removal duty that the Federal Trade Commission enforces.

What to do, step by step

Whatever law might apply, the same practical steps protect your options.

1. Make sure everyone is safe. Call the police if there are threats or you feel in danger.
2. Save evidence. Screenshots showing the content, the account name and the date, plus the link to each post. Keep a simple log. The one exception: never save or forward sexual images of a minor. Write down the link instead.
3. Report to the platform under its bullying, harassment, threats or privacy rules.
4. If a student is involved, report to the school in writing, attach your evidence, and ask for a copy of the bullying policy and what the school will do next.
5. Report crimes to the police: threats, stalking, extortion, and any intimate images. Ask for a report number.
6. Talk to a lawyer or local legal aid if you’re considering a civil claim, a protective order, or if the school or police aren’t responding.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real family.

A 15-year-old boy is targeted by an anonymous account that posts edited photos of him with mocking captions and messages him that “everyone would be happier” if he disappeared. Some classmates share the posts in a group chat. His father finds out when the school counselor calls about a drop in attendance.

1. Safety first. Because the messages hint at self-harm, the father talks with his son, contacts the counselor, and keeps the 988 number handy.
2. Evidence. They screenshot the posts, messages and the account name, with dates, and list the links.
3. Platform. They report the account and posts for bullying and harassment.
4. School. The father emails the principal with the evidence and cites the district’s bullying policy, which covers electronic bullying that affects students at school. The school investigates, identifies the students involved, and applies its discipline process.
5. Police. Because the messages could be read as encouraging self-harm, the father also files a police report so there’s a record if it continues.

The account is removed and the group chat stops. The family doesn’t pursue a lawsuit. How any real case plays out depends on the state, the school and the facts.

Cyberbullying laws for adults

School bullying laws protect students. Adults who are bullied online rely on the other layers: platform rules, harassment and stalking laws, defamation and privacy claims, and workplace policies. If a coworker is involved, workplace harassment rules and your employer’s conduct policy may apply, especially when the harassment relates to a protected characteristic. Our guide on what to do about online harassment covers the adult side in more detail.

If the harassment is persistent or frightening, many states let you ask a court for a protective order that bans the person from contacting you, including online. We explain that process in our guide to restraining orders for online harassment.

Common mistakes

• Waiting to be sure it’s “illegal enough.” You don’t need to know the legal answer before you save evidence, report to the platform or talk to the school.
• Retaliating online. Posting back or doxxing the bully can break the same laws and policies you’re relying on.
• Relying on a verbal complaint to the school. Put it in writing so there’s a record of when the school was told.
• Saving explicit images of a minor as evidence. Record the link and let police handle the material.
• Threatening to sue as a tactic. Empty legal threats often escalate things. Get advice first, then decide.

Getting harmful content out of search results

Even after the bullying stops, posts can linger in search results for a person’s name, which matters for older teens applying to college or jobs and for adults. Removal requests, platform reports and building accurate profiles all help. Our personal reputation management team can help when the results are hard to shift, and we’ll be honest about what can and can’t be removed.

Frequently asked questions

Is cyberbullying illegal in the US?

There’s no single federal cyberbullying crime, but every state has bullying laws aimed at schools, many of which cover electronic bullying, and some states treat cyberbullying as a specific offense. Behavior that includes threats, stalking, harassment, extortion or intimate images can be a crime under state or federal law.

Can a school punish cyberbullying that happens outside school?

Often, yes. Many state laws and district policies cover off-campus online behavior that disrupts school or harms a student’s education, and the Supreme Court has said schools keep some interest in addressing serious bullying and threats off campus. The details depend on your state and district.

Can parents be held responsible for their child's cyberbullying?

In some situations. Some states have parental liability laws for harm caused by a minor, and a civil claim might name parents in certain circumstances. It depends heavily on the state and the facts, so talk to a lawyer.

Should I go to the police about cyberbullying?

Contact the police if there are threats of violence, stalking, extortion, sexual images of anyone under 18, or if you feel unsafe. For other bullying, the school, the employer and the platform are usually the first places to report.