Justin Bieber exacted his revenge on Kevin Kriostopik ,and it was not pretty.
Sometime around midnight August 15, Bieber posted a message containing Kristopik’s phone number reading “everyone call me….or text.” Thought the message was taken down after a few minutes, the damage was done.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Kristopik was deluged with over 26,000 text message and non-stop calls before he dropped his twitter account and changed his phone number.
Bieber’s Act of Revenge
Fifteen-year-old Kistopik had obtained Bieber’s phone number by hacking the Facebook page of one of Bieber’s friends, and had been annoying the baby-faced pop-star with calls and messages. “I kind of meddled into his life a little bit” the Detroit area high-school student admitted. Bieber apparently was not amused, and after allegedly asking Kevin to stop messaging him, he turned the tables. Shortly after midnight Saturday, Bieber posted Kristopik’s number, insinuating it was his (Bieber’s) own number. the flood of calls and messages to Kristopik’s phone began soon after.
Bieber is Just a Teenager
There are those who believe Justin Bieber burned his own fans just as much as he did Kristopik, and should offer them an apology. That may be true, and it is also true that Kristopik may have deserved what he got for his hacking and annoying Bieber. But the truth is, Bieber’s actions are typical of the sixteen-year-old boy that Bieber is.
Let’s be clear about something; Justin Bieber is a teenager. Even with all the managers, handlers, PR hacks, and assorted other hangers-on that no doubt surround him at all times, he is still a teenage boy with teenage emotions and impulses. No amount of celebrity or stardom can change that. Bieber’s act, magnified by several orders of magnitude by his stardom, was in effect a mean-spirited act of payback typical of immature high-school kids all around the world. To expect more circumspect behavior from sixteen-year-old Justin Bieber than is expected from any other teenage is not only unrealistic, it is unfair.
In exacting his pound of flesh from Kevin Kristopik, Justin Beiber simply acted his age.
Consequences for Kristopik
It appears unlikely that Bieber’s camp will press charges, but that does not mean there will be no consequences for Kristopik.
According to information and technology law specialist Jeremy Bisdorf, the penalties for hacking can be severe, including both civil and criminal liabilities.
Of more immediate concern to Kristopik and his parents however are the thousands of texts sent to Kevin’s phone from around the world. Though Kevin’s cell phone plan included unlimited text messaging, international texts, and calls are not covered.
Kevin’s father, Mike Kristopik, said he hopes there are no long-term consequences for his son, but “If I have a $20,000 phone bill, I am going to be pretty upset”
It could be an expensive lesson for Kevin Kristopik.
Ref: Detroit News
Ref: Chicago Tribune
