Coronavirus: Huge rise cases of in online abuse and bullying

More time online at home is ­bringing out the worst in some Australians.

New figures from the office of the eSafety Commissioner reveal the significant spike in complaints of adults abusing each other online.

More time online at home is ­bringing out the worst in some Australians, with reports of cyber abuse up by 50 per cent since ­social-­distancing measures were introduced last month, federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has revealed.

New figures from the office of the eSafety Commissioner reveal the significant spike in complaints of adults abusing each other online, which sit alongside increased reports of cyber bullying of children, up 21 per cent, and image-based abuse, up 86 per cent.

Behind the numbers are some disturbing cases, including reports of online pile-ons against people being shamed and harassed for ­allegedly being caught on video breaching coronavirus social-­distancing rules, with no context to the footage.

Another significant concern is reports of children attending school at home via online platforms such as Zoom being bullied by other students about their ­living conditions, which are revealed in the background of the video stream.

Mr Fletcher noted the growing level of aggressive online behaviour. He encouraged children and adults who felt bullied or threatened to report incidents to the eSafety Commissioner. He also urged parents to increase their vigilance around their children’s online safety at a time when the corona­virus restrictions were changing the online landscape.

“There are a lot of people not living in their normal routine, they may be working from home, or may have lost their job,” Mr Fletcher told The Weekend Australian. “There’s also an increased level of anxiety in the community about COVID-19, and I think these are all factors likely to contribute to more aggressive behaviour online.”

The eSafety Commissioner’s office offered a case study typical of the new instances of trial by ­social media. It received a report about a video shared widely on ­social media of a person of Asian descent spitting at another person. The person who posted it claimed it was an unprovoked attack flagrantly breaching social-distancing requirements, and called for it to be shared widely so the alleged perpetrator could be outed and publicly shamed.

Comments posted in response were narrowing down the spitter’s identity and location. But a third party, an eyewitness, lodged a complaint with the eSafety Commissioner, revealing the person who spat had been persistently verbally abused and accused of being infected with COVID-19.

The commissioner, who has no formal legislative powers to control adult cyber abuse, approached the relevant social media platform to take down the material to stop further damage being caused, which it did.

“On social media people can pile on very quickly without necessarily thinking about whether it’s fair or appropriate to do so,” Mr Fletcher said.

“While we don’t have any formal legal structure there at the moment, we are working on that and there will be an adult cyber abuse scheme as part of the new online safety act the Morrison government has committed to ­introduce (to parliament).”

Mr Fletcher also said the current restrictions on movement brought about as a result of COVID-19 offered an ideal opportunity for parents to reset safety expectations around their children’s online behaviour.

“We suggest spending some time with your child, looking at what they are looking at online. Have the conversation about what’s appropriate and what's not,” he said.

“And change the privacy settings on your child’s devices to the highest possible setting, because factory default settings are generally not at the highest level.”