ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland's Senate has approved a measure to update the state's law against online bullying of children.
The Senate voted 45-0 Thursday for the bill, sending it to the House.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Robert Zirkin, says the measure modernizes the definition of electronic communication to keep up with changes in technology. The measure changes the law so that a single significant act could apply, rather than requiring multiple examples of bullying.
The bill also widens the scope of the law, so that it would apply to online bullying, even if it isn't sent directly to someone.
The measure is named "Grace's Law 2.0," after 15-year-old Grace McComas of Woodbine, Maryland. The teenager killed herself in 2012 after repeated online bullying on social media by a neighbor.
