In its first three months of operation, the eSafety Commissioner (The Commissioner) has removed over 2000 pieces of illegal content from websites and resolved 40 cases of online bullying. Julia Cornwell-McKean, the manager of cyber bullying complaints at the Office of the Commissioner, stated that the majority of incidents involve children between the ages of 14-15, although some serious conduct targeted children as young as 11.

The Advertiser reports that, although the majority of complaints were made by parents, teachers are also helping to report content and incidents to the Commissioner.

Cyber bullying

Apart from the fact that all forms of cyber bullying use technology, there is otherwise little homogeneity to cyber bullying conduct. From cruel targeted comments on social media, to the publication of nude photographs and anonymous trolls, technology facilitates many situations which can easily be abused by those with malicious intent. Social media is a constant presence in many students’ lives, especially in high school. The constant connection to the sites and applications supported by smart phones increases the vulnerability of students and makes it difficult to escape bullies.

Cyber bullying is an enormous issue for Australian schools, as we have previously reported. One of the crucial issues with cyber bullying is that it can easily occur outside school in forums without any adult supervision, but will have serious consequences for students at school. Both schools and parents have an important responsibility to monitor, report and address any issues relating to use of technology, and using the services of the Commissioner is one of several ways in which concerns can be addressed.

How to make a complaint to the eSafety Commissioner

The Commissioner accepts complaints on its website regarding instances of cyber bullying or illegal or inappropriate online content. These complaints can be made by any concerned party, as long as they are an Australian resident and certain evidence is provided. Before making a complaint to the Commissioner, a complainant should first make a report to the social media site operator, if a social media site is involved in the bullying conduct.

Evidence

To process a complaint the Commissioner will need to see evidence of the cyber bullying material. The Commissioner requires:

• a copy of a URL; or
• screenshots of the upsetting material.

The Commissioner also requires a complainant to store evidence on their computer so you can easily access it if you need to make a complaint.

Evaluation of a complaint

Once a complaint has been made, the Commissioner will evaluate it based on a variety of factors including the seriousness of the claim, the evidence provided and whether other complaints have been made.

Once an incident has been identified and investigated, a range of actions may be taken. These include:

• notifying a child’s parents, school or the Police (the Commissioner generally obtains permission from a child before contacting any of these parties, but in serious circumstances will act without permission);
• referring the child to the Kids Helpline; and
• liaising with social media providers to remove content.

Social media partners

The Commissioner works in conjunction with social media sites to monitor content, and in the first three months of its operation, sites have cooperated and removed content within 12 hours of receiving a complaint. Social media sites are classified using a two tier system based on the way in which interaction occurs, with specific rules and penalties that apply to the different tiers. Several major social media companies have become partners of the Commissioner, which indicates that they have put in place various safety measures to address concerns for children. These partners include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Ask.fm, Flickr and Google+.

Increasing threats online – have you heard of ‘Peeple’?

Although the success of the Commissioner in the first three months is promising, the serious issues of online safety and privacy are far from resolved.

While teachers and students are becoming more aware of the issues and responsibilities associated with the use of common sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, there are constantly new developments that make cyber bullying difficult to manage.

Recently, a Silicon Valley company made global headlines for its app ‘Peeple’ described as “Yelp for people”. In the original Washington Post profile, the creator of the app stated that individuals over 21 with a Facebook profile would be able to create reviews and assign a rating to a person, provided they knew their phone number. Following a huge amount of backlash, the company has released a statement stating that negative comments will be impossible, although the ability of the company to monitor this is unclear. Many were concerned by the fact that that Peeple did not require an individual’s permission before others could create reviews or ratings. Teachers familiar with the RateMyTeachers website may have already been exposed to the problems associated with an online review process, as discussed in our earlier article.

The potential for devastating harm to be caused by the misuse of the Peeple app is clear.

Although content can be removed from public sites, copies and records can be stored privately. In almost all circumstances regarding cyber bullying, the removal of the content cannot repair damage already done by its initial publication.

Additionally, the anonymity enjoyed by cyber bullies and, in severe circumstances, cyber criminals make this problem difficult to confront. Enforcement of rules and laws is difficult when the perpetrator cannot be identified. Although the Police have resources to help identify publishers of content, this is not always available to schools in less severe instances of cyber bullying which are managed internally.

Have teachers at your school made a complaint to the eSafety Commissioner?

Social media and new websites can pose a threat to both teachers and students, and schools should have robust, detailed policies in place to cope with both scenarios.

Existing policies should be reviewed and amended to refer to the services provided by the Commissioner and parents and staff should be educated on the role of the Commissioner.

Helpfully, there is a steady stream of new resources available to teachers to help educate their students in online safety. The website of the eSafety Commissioner is an excellent starting place for teachers, as it contains comprehensive information about cyber safety for children, including a special section on educational resources.

The ABC recently reported that the Law Society of South Australia has developed an app that is targeted at teenagers and addresses the laws and dangers of sexting, or sending sexual images online. The legal consequences of this conduct is often poorly understood by students, and given the confusion associated with this area of law, ‘The Naked Truth’ was developed by the Law Society. This app is currently being expanded to include cyber bullying, and aims to be an educational resource adopted by schools across the country.

In addition, the BULLY Project, a not-for-profit global initiative begun in the US, will soon launch in Australia with range of domestic partners. The social action campaign aims to reach 100,000 school students with its message of empathy and action in the face of a harmful bullying culture. This movement was inspired by the documentary ‘BULLY’, which looked at the impact of bullying on the lives of five children in the US who face daily bullying.

Cyber safety will only grow in importance over the coming years, as students become more sophisticated users of the internet. There will always be ways in which technology is abused to cause harm to students and teachers. Schools should ensure that their policies are up-to-date to cope with emerging websites and apps to best protect their staff and students.

It might be the case that teachers at your school have already made a complaint to the Commissioner – have you asked them?