As the new school year begins, parents and guardians have been urged to stay alert for their kid’s online safety after youth-driven cyberbullying content escalated to “concerning levels.”
“I urge everyone to be mindful of online safety ahead of the return to school when we typically see reports of cyberbullying spike,” eSafety Commissioner Inman Grant said.
During the first year of the Online Safety Act, which gives eSafety the power to compel online platforms to remove serious cyberbullying material, investigators have looked into nearly 1,700 complaints and made over 500 takedown requests.
“We are seeing the tenor and tone of this youth-driven cyberbullying content escalating to concerning levels,” Grant said.
“Cyberbullying complaints have continued their post-pandemic surge since the Act came into force, increasing by over 69 percent compared to the previous calendar year.”
Under the Act, Australians can report online harm to the commissioner. After a removal notice is issued, the platform must take down the reported post within 24 hours or risk a fine of up to 500 penalty units—up to $111,000 for individuals (US$80,000) and up to $555,000 for companies (US$400,000).
Legal notices issued by the agency revealed that some of the biggest companies, including Apple, Meta, Whatsapp, and Microsoft, had a lot of work needed to tackle child sexual exploitation on their platforms.
“But this is just the start. We’ll be issuing more notices to other companies this year,” Grant said.
“At the same time, we’ll continue collaborative activity with the industry aimed at lifting standards through our Safety by Design initiative.
This year, eSafety will be making a priority of understanding and anticipating trends and challenges, such as recommender algorithms.
The agency also highlighted the opportunity to reduce the harms related to “looming” technology landscapes—metaverse, generative AI, and quantum environments.
An Interpersonal Relationship Issue: Cyber Safety Expert
Susan McLean, Australia’s foremost expert in cyber safety, said the work of the eSafety commissioner was heading in the right direction but noted that only a tiny portion of cyberbullying ever gets reported.“I think that their powers are good in that they can direct the platforms to take the content down now within 24 hours instead of 48 hours,” she told The Epoch Times.
“So obviously, that’s going to reduce any harm to young people because the quicker the content is removed, the better the outcome.”
But it was important to remember that bullying has moved from face-to-face into the online space as technology developed.
“Cyberbullying is not a technology issue. It’s an interpersonal relationship issue,” McLean said.
“If you’re being bullied online, there’s a fair chance that you’re being bullied in your life as well.”
Technology also gives bullies a false sense of security when they don’t see others being charged by police.
This is why it was important to have a multifaceted approach to make everyone understand that cyberbullying was “not acceptable behaviour,” McLean said.
These include clear guidance and education embedded in school curriculums, combined with policy, law, and the handout of punishments. Platforms also need to cooperate by quickly removing harmful content and using AI to prevent anything similar from surfacing again.
“It’s got to be the whole gamut of things. Nothing in isolation will work,” she said.
McLean said in the current technological age, it was “non-negotiable” that parents be an active participants in their child’s online life.
“As much as you need to protect your children from bad things. You need to make sure your kid is not out there wreaking havoc on other children. That is your responsibility,” she said.
She told parents it was important that they establish rules and boundaries, as well as make sure their children know that no matter what happens, they can come to you for help.
If a child is being cyberbullied, McLean said to take action and keep evidence, not to ignore and “wish it away.”
“So take screenshots of everything. Make sure you report the abuse to the platform, then block the user. You must do it in that order—report first, block second,” she said
“Take the evidence ... to the school, to the workplace, to the sports club, and leave them to deal with it.
“If it does not resolve adequately, then obviously you can make a police report because cyberbullying is a criminal offence in every state and territory in Australia.”
