A year ago, the 13-year-old Megan Meier began an online relationship with another MySpace user named Josh Evans. According to reports, the relationship began with flirtation, but ended in tragedy. Evans's last message to Meier read, "The world would be a better place without you." Shortly after reading it, Megan Meier ended her own life. You could call Josh Evans a cyberbully, except that Josh Evans wasn't real. He was a creation of Meier's neighbors, Curt and Lori Drew.

Now, after a criminal investigation that did not result in charges, the Meiers say they plan ligitation. MySpace might be a target. Precedent, however, suggests it might be difficult for the Meiers to win damages from the News Corp property.

Already this year, a judge in Austin dismissed a case against MySpace brought by a minor who alleged she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old she met on the social network. Her lawyers claimed MySpace failed to protect the minor with reasonable safety measures, despite knowing other minors had fallen prey to similar crimes. But the Judge ruled the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which holds that an "interactive computer service" should not be considered a publisher, freed MySpace from the responsibility of policing postings to its site. A similar ruling would clear MySpace from responsibility for the message that drove Megan Meier to suicide.

One case Meiers parents might make is that MySpace doesn't do enough to keep adults from interacting with underage members. But aside from requiring members to register with credit cards, there's little social networks can do to prevent members from lying about their age when signing up.