Watchdog says social media giants must pay for peddling pain and harassment
Rampant social media trolling has sparked the nation’s top cyber watchdog to demand powers to fine tech giants up to $105,000 a day unless they remove content that is threatening, intimidating and harassing.
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Rampant social media trolling has sparked the nation’s top cyber watchdog to demand powers to fine tech giants up to $105,000 a day unless they remove the vile comments.
The eSafety Commissioner is seeking authority to compel adult trolls and the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Google to remove content that is threatening, intimidating and harassing.
In an interview with the Sunday Herald Sun, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant — a former Twitter and Microsoft executive — said more action was needed against the tech companies to protect users.
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“There are things that can be done to target the tech companies and encourage the companies to harden up their platform and make this toxicity harder to proliferate,’’ Ms Inman Grant said.
“We constantly hear them saying we are doing privacy reviews, we are doing security reviews — why aren’t we extending this to safety?’’
Under current laws, only those aged under 18 can be ordered to take down content and social media companies fined for not pulling down comments from child trolls. The Commissioner now wants those powers extended to adult trolls.
“The number of adult cyber abuse reports are starting to surpass the number of youth-based cyber abuse reports. All we can do now is rely on goodwill,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“That’s where we see definitely more targeted, gendered violent hate speech.”
Her comments come as a Sunday Herald Sun investigation reveals:
VICTORIA’S Attorney-General Jill Hennessy is looking at what can be done at a state level to stop hate-filled and distressing content;
THE state government is considering new laws to crack down on social media giants and international
media outlets who ignore court orders, following the highly
secretive court case of convicted cardinal George Pell;
THE AFL Players Association says there is a “fixation with hate’’ in social media and calls for users to be identified and not anonymous.
FACEBOOK, Instagram, YouTube and Google have refused to sign up to an eSafety scheme where they voluntarily pull down offensive content when asked, instead opting to subject themselves to legally binding notices and penalties;
SEXTORTION is the latest social media crime, with users as young as 13 being duped into sending large sums of money to prevent their private images being published
on social media and sent to friends and family;
CHILDREN in primary school using coded language on app and social media platforms to urge classmates to kill themselves still can’t be found.
THE eSafety Commissioner identified 10,229 breaches from complaints about online content including child sexual abuse,
pro-terrorist material, and sexual violence in the last financial year.
THE nation’s cyber watchdog received 750 reports of image-based abuse with photos landing on 1700 separate URLs.
Among cases that have prompted the nation’s eSafety Commissioner to intervene have been white supremacists publicising the address of a female public figure and soliciting an attack on her; footage of a school brawl; trolls urging a child with a development disorder to kill herself; a video of a drunk teenager behaving inappropriately; images and videos depicting terrorist activities; a website selling counterfeit copies of Australian proof-of-age documents; and a website promoting methods of suicide.
Ms Inman Grant said tech giants focused on new advancements but not enough on what the consequences of them might be.
“You have the world’s best minds, you have tremendous engineering resources and plenty of profits to invest in that area,” she said.
“But what I feel is really lacking is leadership.”
Following the trolling of AFLW star Tayla Harris, AFL Players Association chief Paul Marsh said social media companies needed to ensure users on their platforms were identifiable rather than allow them to get away with made-up or anonymous profiles.
“It is almost a daily occurrence (trolls attacking footballers) and it feels like it is growing,” he said.
“It’s vile and disgusting and it does have an impact.
“There is this fixation with hate that sits within the comments on social media.”
Mr Marsh identified racism, sexism and rumours — from drugs to sexual partners — as the main posts targeting players in the AFL and AFLW.
He wants to hold a summit to address the issues including how sites are moderated, anonymous profiles and laws that would target trolls.
The Sunday Herald Sun can also reveal the state government has asked the Victorian Law Reform Commission to review contempt of court laws, to consider whether they need to be modernised after Google, Twitter, Facebook and online news outlets published last year the guilty verdict against George Pell despite a suppression order banning publication.
The commission has been asked to pay particular attention to the development of the internet and new media in conducting its review when assessing issues relating to enforcing suppression orders, including penalties and how breaches are prosecuted.
In a further move, Ms Hennessy has asked her department to look at what can be done at a state level to stop distressing content being amplified.
“We know that there is a need for modern regulation and greater accountability to protect people from harmful and distressing content online,” she said.
Melbourne University social media governance researcher Dr Jennifer Beckett said social media companies were an example of “growth without thinking about consequences”. She said moderating platforms was difficult as there were six billion posts daily on Facebook, but there needed to be a global standard of what was considered hate speech to make it easier to stop.
“They need to understand that there is a culture of hate on their platforms,” Dr Beckett said.
LGBTIQ advocate Tony Lee has been working in social media since it began but says hateful comments on online platforms are impossible to forget.
His not-for-profit organisation Minus18 produces programs to support LGBTIQ young people.
“We (Minus18) do get homophobic insults thrown at us, we are constantly attacked and receive negative comments that are quite jarring; they use language that incites (hate against) you and your existence.”
TROLLS AND PREDATORS
Vile comments by faceless trolls saw an inspiring photo of AFLW star Tayla Harris kicking a football removed from Channel 7’s social media sites.
Despite Twitter temporarily banning far-right extremist Blair Cottrell for posting comments comparing his treatment on SkyNews to the rape of the presenter and staff, Facebook took no action, arguing the comments were not aimed at an individual.
Online predator Anjan Shrestha used a young woman’s Facebook posts to hunt her down and rape her. “I’ve got you on Facebook,’’ he said as he raped her.
LAW BREAKERS
Facebook and Twitter published stories and comments about the Pell verdict in Australia, despite a suppression on any media organisations in Australia reporting the outcome.
Social media posts during trial of Jill Meagher’s killer, Adrian Bayley, threatened the case, with people warned not to comment.
BULLIES
A US mum says her daughter was watching a Doki Doki cartoon on YouTube but two minutes in it showed self harm and suicide. The girl drew a picture depicting suicide. She was also told on gaming platforms to go kill herself.
Northern Territorian Dolly Everett, 14, took her own life after being cyber bullied relentlessly. In the wake of her death, Dolly’s friends were trolled on Snapchat and told to do the same thing.
MERCHANTS OF DEATH
Accused terrorist Brenton Tarrant livestreamed the slaughter of praying Muslims inside two mosques in Christchurch.
A 20-year-old man in Thailand streamed himself murdering his daughter and killing himself.
Obdulia Sanchez livestreamed a crash that killed her 14-year-old sister. As the video went viral she stood over her sister’s body screaming: “I’m going to jail for life. I understand that — I don’t care.”
THE MOTHER
Melbourne mother Elisha Bakes shared a picture of her baby bump but wasn’t expecting the ugly response.
Nasty comments by online bullies labelled the pregnant mother as “gross” and suggested she was “expecting a horse”.
“I had no idea people could be so cruel and so judgmental about pregnancy,” said Ms Bakes.
The young mother said she was a confident person and could combat the negative comments but they did play on her mind.
“I would have to stop and think, do I look disgusting? This is the last thing I needed to worry about, but you do,” she said.
THE SCHOOLGIRL
WhenMonique Mastrobattista was 13 she shared a photo with her friends of her bruised face after a fall.
The relentless online bullying she got afterwards led to her “mental breakdown” and a speech impediment.
The image was circulated among class mates through group chats where people commented on how “ugly” the young girl was.
“I tried to keep it from my parents but they knew something wasn’t right. I suffered anxiety, depression and was stuttering constantly,” she said.
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