Twitter, Facebook, Instagram targeted in federal government’s cyberbullying laws

ONLINE bullies of kids to get formal notices to remove offensive material or risk police referral in the Government’s cyberbullying laws.

EXCLUSIVE: Online bullies targeting kids will be issued with formal notices to remove offensive material or risk being referred to police under a Federal Government crackdown on internet trolling.

Parliamentary Secretary for Communications Paul Fletcher has revealed the government’s new cyberbullying laws, which will go to parliament before the end of the year, will put large social media giants like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter on a two-step monitoring system.

The scheme will allow the companies to voluntarily address cyber bullying, but if they fail to do so, become subject to a mandatory compliance scheme and face civil penalties for refusing to tackle the scourge of cyberbullying.

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Complains system backed by legislation ... Parliamentary Secretary for Communications Paul Fletcher. Picture: News Corp Australia

Creation of a Children’s e-Safety Commissioner “an important step” ... Dr Judith Slocombe, CEO of The Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

The new laws will create an e-Safety Commissioner that will be empowered to issue notices to cyber-bullies to take down harmful online posts, or face court injunctions or police referrals.

“This legislation will establish the Office of the Children’s e-Safety Commissioner and will lay out the mechanism for effective complaints system, backed by legislation to get cyber-bullying material targeted at and harmful to an Australian child, down quickly from large social media sites,” Mr Fletcher said.

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But the Federal Government’s new regime to crackdown on online trolling stops short of following the United Kingdom and New Zealand and creating specific new criminal offence for cyber bullying.

Cassie Whitehill, who lost her sister Chloe Fergusson to cyber bullying, welcomed the Children’s e-Safety Commissioner and the signals from Governmnet that social media sites will face tougher penalties.

Chloe's Law founder Cassie Whitehill ... Chloe's Law was named after her sister Chloe Fergusson who suffered cyberbullying. Picture: News Corp Australia

“I think it’s a really good first step,” Ms Whitehill said.

But Ms Whitehill said she also believe the police need greater powers to deal with internet trolls, beyond the current law that makes it an offence to use a carriage service, like the internet, to menace or harass people.

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The chief executive of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Dr Judith Slocombe, said the creation of a Children’s e-Safety Commissioner was “an important step” to keeping kids safe online.

“We see the Commissioner as a mechanism to encourage positive social norms for online behaviour,” Dr Slocombe said.

“It is important that children have the opportunity to reap the benefits that access to the internet brings, but also important as a community that we keep them safe.”