This story comes from the leader of the GR8 Clan which is a clan in Xbox Live that consists of children from ages eight through sixteen and a few of their Mom's. It is similar an after-school program, except it is online sports. She describes issues that she has been having with the kids being harassed on XBox Live and her disappointing experiences with their customer support.
In Xbox Live the voices of the other players are heard on headsets. Even though the voices are going out over the internet, the regulations about phone harassment that regulate hate speech on VOIP and cell phones have not been applied to XBox Live. The present loop hole has provided a lawless internet frontier where Microsoft has not put in safeguards for children on its own.
On the privacyrights.org website, phone harassment, in this case regarding cell phone calls is defined as follows:
"How is harassment defined?
The law will vary from state to state, but in California (for example) a single call is enough to meet the definition of harassment if the caller threatens physical harm or is obscene. If the call does not fall into either of these categories, the calls must be repeated to be considered harassment.
Intent is another requirement included in most harassment definitions. The law generally requires that the harasser intend the calls to be viewed as harassment. Because of the need to prove intent, you should tell the harasser that you do not want to speak to the person and to stop calling. If the harasser persists after this clear message, it will be easier to prove that the intent was to harass."
( Source: http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs2a-cellcalls.htm )
Xbox Live is not classified as a VOIP service. However as VOIP services begin to take on a share of the same functions and market as other phone services the FCC has begun endowing VoIP providers with the same rights and regulations.
( Source: http://www.aboutvoip.org/more-fcc-regulations.php )
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