cyberbullying
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Japan’s amended cyberbullying law makes online insults punishable by one year in prison
Insulting someone online could land an individual in Japan a one-year prison term under an amendment to the country’s penal code enacted on Thursday morning.
A Japanese man was charged $81 for cyberbullying star Hana Kimura before her death
An online troll was charged $81 for cyberbullying Hana Kimura. Is that enough?
Facebook is using bots to figure out how to stop harassment
Facebook says its researchers are developing new technology they hope will aid in ongoing efforts to make its platform’s AI have the ability to snuff out harassment. In the Web-Enabled Simulation (WES), an army of bots programmed to mimic bad human behavior are let loose in a test environment, and Facebook engineers then figure out the best countermeasures. WES has three key aspects, Facebook researcher Mark Harman said in a statement.
Tumblr's digital literacy campaign targets fake news and bullying
Tumblr is launching a year-long digital literacy campaign to fight fake news, cyberbullying and other toxic internet behavior. Tumblr hopes the campaign, dubbed World Wide What, will spread internet safety awareness and start healthy conversations with the Tumblr community. (Full disclosure: Tumblr has ties to Verizon, Engadget's parent company.)
Jonah Hill tackles bullying in new Instagram TV series
IGTV may not be capturing hearts and minds but at least Instagram is leveraging the platform to talk about important issues. Starting today, Instagram users can watch a new four-part series from the Facebook-owned company and 22 Jump Street actor Jonah Hill, reports Variety. The series, titled Un-filtered, features Hill interviewing 13 to 25-year-olds about their experiences with bullying. In some instances, Hill also interviews people who were bullies. The series also touches on both cyber and offline bullying.
BBC's smart keyboard helps kids live healthy digital lives
The BBC wants to help kids have healthy and positive interactions online, and it's hoping its new Own It app will do just that. The app is centered around a keyboard that pops up whenever a user begins to type. If the message is negative, the app can offer support, give advice and recommend talking to a trusted adult.
UK will hold social networks accountable for harmful content
The UK government plans to penalize tech companies like Facebook and Google that fail to curb the spread of harmful content on their platforms. As promised, the country is seeking to empower an independent regulator to enforce the rules which target violent material, posts encouraging suicide, disinformation, cyber-bullying, and child exploitation. Over the coming weeks, the government will consult on the types of punishments available to the new watchdog, including fines, blocking access to sites, and holding senior members of tech companies accountable for their failures.
For Twitter, 'sorry' seems to be the easiest word
Two weeks before Cesar Sayoc was arrested for mailing 13 pipe bombs (and counting) to various Democratic politicians and supporters, including President Barack Obama, he was threatening people on Twitter who opposed his nationalist, pro-Trump views. In a tweet to political analyst Rochelle Ritchie on October 11th, which he sent from one of two Twitter accounts that have since been suspended, he said she should hug her "loved ones real close every time" she left home. "So you like [to] make threats. We Unconquered Seminole Tribe will answer your threats. We have nice silent Air boat ride for you here on our land Everglades Swamp. We will see u 4 sure," he added. Ritchie reported the tweet, only to be told by Twitter that it did not violate its terms of service.
Google is giving parents a toolkit to educate kids on internet safety
Google and the National Parent Teacher Association are joining forces to help educate parents and kids about online safety. The search giant will give out all-in-one kits that include a Google Pixelbook and presentations covering a variety of topics regarding online safety including phishing and scams, privacy and security, cyberbullying and "inappropriate" content. They also include some decorative reminders of best practices like banners and posters in both English and Spanish.
Ruby Rose is the latest celebrity driven off Twitter by abuse
It's only been a few days since Ruby Rose was cast as "Batwoman" for the CW series Arrowverse, but the Australian actor has already had to quit Twitter after a stream of abusive messages. Much of the backlash has focused on accusations that Rose -- who identifies as gender fluid and is a prominent LGBTQ activist -- isn't "gay enough" to play the role of Kate Kane (aka Batwoman) who is a lesbian in the comic books. Some others took issue with the fact that, unlike the character in the comics, Rose isn't Jewish. Still others simply questioned her acting ability, leading to the creation of #recastbatwoman campaign on social media.
Netflix renews controversial '13 Reasons Why' for a third season
Netflix's controversial teen drama 13 Reasons Why is returning for a third season in 2019, even though many believed the second season was unnecessary. For one thing, the first season was based on a book and the two ended at around the same point, leading to some suggesting Netflix was milking the subject matter. The streaming giant confirmed the show's return with a teaser video.
UK to introduce internet safety laws within 'next couple of years'
The UK government is acting on its vow to make the internet safer... whether or not companies like the idea. In the wake of the Internet Safety Green Paper, Digital Secretary Matt Hancock has unveiled plans for online safety laws that will tackle cyberbullying, child exploitation, extremism and other "legal and illegal harms." Government ministries, charities and the public will work together on a white paper later in 2018 that will "set out" the legislation, with Hancock expecting the laws to be ready within the "next couple of years."
The White House's anti-cyberbullying campaign copied an old FTC pamphlet
First lady Melania Trump has launched a new anti-cyberbullying campaign called "Be Best," and the White House has released a pamphlet to go with it -- one that's not quite as new. As BuzzFeed News has pointed out, the campaign's "Talking with Kids About Being Online" brochure copies an Obama-era FTC document for its "Net Cetera" program back in 2014. If you look at the documents side by side, the covers are almost identical, with slight changes to the smartphone graphics to make them look less like a Samsung Galaxy S3 and more like an iPhone X.
Facebook: AI will protect you
Artificial intelligence is a key part of everything Facebook does, from chatbots in Messenger to powering the personalized recommendations you get on apps like Instagram. But, as great as the technology is to create new and deeper experiences for users, Facebook says the most important role of AI lies in keeping its community safe. Today at F8, the company's chief technology officer, Mike Schroepfer, highlighted how valuable the tech has become to combating abuse on its platform, including hate speech, bullying and terrorist content. Schroepfer pointed to stats Facebook revealed last month that showed that its AI tools removed almost two million pieces of terrorist propaganda, with 99 percent of those being spotted before a human even reported them.
With Squadbox, friends moderate harassing messages in your email
Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed a tool aimed at fighting harassment online. It's called Squadbox and the idea behind it is to have your friends or coworkers moderate your incoming messages for you. The research team interviewed a number of people who had experienced online harassment in the past and then designed Squadbox's features based on those conversations.
Facebook to train UK students as cyber safety experts
Facebook has pledged more than £1 million to help turn British schoolchildren into "digital safety ambassadors." The scheme, created by Childnet International and The Diana Award, will teach students about social media, cyberbullying and the hazards of the wider internet. They will then act as a support group for their friends and fellow pupils, fielding questions and leading online safety initiatives in the classroom. Facebook says its investment will allow every UK secondary school to have its own digital safety ambassador, should they be interested in the project. In total, that could be an extra 4,500 pupils sharing good advice with their peers.
Privacy group says Washington cyberbullying law is censoring instead
Anti-cyberbullying laws are noble, but attempting to punish online speech is tough. Digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) claimed that Washington state's anti-cyberbullying legislation goes too far -- and ends up censoring speech instead.
UK teens say Instagram is the worst app for cyberbullying
New research claims Instagram is home to more cyberbullies than any other social media platform. The findings form part of UK anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label's annual survey, which consulted over 10,000 young people aged 12 to 20.
Netflix renews controversial '13 Reasons Why' for second season
Netflix's 13 Reasons Why has drawn plenty of attention, and not necessarily for good reasons. Critics, mental health experts and politicians have attacked it for its portrayals of suicide, bullying and sexual assault. However, Netflix is apparently willing to push forward -- the streaming service has renewed 13 Reasons Why for a second season. It's too early for a release date or plot, but the new episodes will be venturing into uncharted territory given that the first run ends where the original novel does.
Netflix gives controversial '13 Reasons Why' series more viewer warnings
There's not a more controversial series on TV right now than 13 Reasons Why, the Netflix original which centers around bullying, rape and youth suicide. While the show has been rated for mature audiences (TV-MA) since its debut on March 31st, Netflix has been criticized for only placing graphic content warnings on a few episodes, namely those that contained sexual abuse and suicide scenes. But, amid backlash from mental health organizations and even lawmakers in some countries, the streaming service is adding more content warnings to its series.
