The Federal Government (Government) has announced the release of research into the prevalence of cyber-bullying in Australian schools and outlined its plans to combat this dangerous trend. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Federal Minister for Communications the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, announced the release of its research report entitled 'Cyber-bullying Research (June 2014)' at a 'National Centre Against Bullying Conference' on Wednesday (Conference) which details findings on youth exposure to, and management of, cyber-bullying incidents in Australia (Report). The Report's findings include that:
Back in January the Government earmarked $2.4 million for a Children's Safety E-Commissioner (E-Commissioner) and issued a discussion paper (Paper) seeking comment on proposed policy measures including:
To date, public feedback has suggested that a cyber-bullying offence is not necessarily needed. Offences relating to the misuse of the internet are already included in various Federal and State laws such as the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). Rapidly changing technology, new internet sites and smart device applications also makes it hard for the Government to continually develop new laws which adequately regulate online activity. Such laws would have to be so broadly drafted as a 'catch-all' that they would be open to ambiguity and unlikely to be applied effectively.
Feedback also challenged the authority of the E-Commissioner. The Government sees the E-Commissioner as an envoy to establish meaningful relationships between the Government and the operators of internet sites in Australia and overseas. But the E-Commissioner's ability to take enforcement action against site operators which do not engage with it, or ignore it, means it could become a 'toothless tiger'.
Feedback received in relation to the Paper is being used with the Report to help the Government finalise its policy package in this area, with its aim being to introduce legislation into the Parliament before the end of this year.
Interestingly the night before the release of the Report a Thought Leadership Panel Discussion on 'Cyber-bullying' was held with a panel featuring Mr Fletcher, as well as Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson and Dr Jenny Cartwright - Australian Federal Police. Key themes and issues that came from the panel discussion were:
How does your school handle social media? Do your policies extend into the internet and the weekend? Stay tuned for CompliSpace's schools social media e-book, being released shortly!