Ways to handle cyberbulling in the society

STOP CYBERBULLYING

Cyberbullying is becoming a major concern to not only parents but also society. We as Techinnovar we are ready to tackle this problem by all means necessary. Should you encounter any cyber harassment, please, feel free to contact us.

Below is a list of practices that we should all adopt for internet safety. Note, there are various ways to tackle the issue of cyberbullying in our day to day society. I have listed only but a few not limited to this list.

Create anti-bullying strategies for your school:

In school, ambassadors/prefects are should be appointed to come up with ideas to prevent bullying and present them to the school in groups of four to six. Recently I saw an idea of having a bench with cushions in the playground where pupils can sit and talk to ambassadors. They also talk to parents about their work.

Understand what’s not bullying :

As Techinnovar we run several campaigns Against Bullying, we also offer training which is attended by the whole school community, including parents. We talk about everything regarding online safety, dos and don’ts on the internet, bullying, including what is not bullying, such as a difference of opinion, a fight or an argument.

Teach your child at a tender age:

We need to educate pupils about cyberbullying as soon as we expect them to start using technology. Nowadays children below six years know how to download games ways better than some millennials.  We also must educate parents. There is the assumption that cyberbullying won’t affect their child until secondary school. We run workshops for parents of children in reception about staying safe online, primarily to highlight areas they wouldn’t even think of – cyberbullying doesn’t just happen on Facebook.

Empathy is the key to cyberbullying:

Let it be known that we cannot always hide behind a screen, computer, tablet or phone and bully others. The cyber world is part of the real world and should not be being separate. The approach we adopt is for perpetrators to develop their empathic skills. It is so important for young people to be able to imagine the effect their words and actions may have on their victim.

Run workshops for parents/teachers/tutors and Educators:

We talk about the definition of cyberbullying, the type of young person that may become a perpetrator or victim, different types of online harassment and what to do if your child is affected. We also run specific e-safety workshops, where we look at the different ways children cyberbully and how parents can help protect their child online.

Understand the law when it comes to cyberbullying:

If the school suspects that an indecent image has been shared, particularly in a

cyberbullying context, the device may be confiscated. In general, such images should not be viewed unless there is a clear reason to do so, such as checking the device to see if any offense has been committed. teachers or parents should not go on a fishing expedition through a pupil’s device and should always act within the school’s protocols, safeguarding and child protection policies.

Involve higher authority within the community:

One of the things we have found to be powerful is involving authority whenever necessary. A bullying incident may not involve prosecution, but it helps parents and students gain a better understanding of the legal dimensions involved. It’s particularly important when it comes to addressing issues that arise when students are in possession of an indecent image or video of another child, where discussions are also an issue of child protection.

Words of wisdom to youths:

My advice to the young people, treat your online passwords like your toothbrush, don’t share them with anyone, not even your best friend, and change them regularly. And keep your tweets sweet and your status gracious.

Let’s raise children as a society :

An interesting perspective is how bullying affects other people, causing reactions that impact the victim even more. Getting bystanders to empathize is key and their role in bullying is something that a school’s e-safety curriculum should cover. This is not only a teacher/parent obligation but rather a social concern and therefore should you see any evil blow the whistle.

 

Child Online Protection pt 2

Having discussed the general definition and history of C.O.P in there earlier blog. We continue with the various topics so as to understand what exactly why children/youth need to be protected online.

COP GUIDELINES AS PROVIDED BY ITU

 For children:

The guidelines advise them on possible harmful activities online, such as bullying and harassment, identity theft, and online abuse. They also include advice to children seeing and experiencing harmful and illegal content online, or young people being exposed to grooming for sexual purposes, the production, distribution and collection of child abuse material.

For parents and educators:

the guidelines provide recommendations on what they can do to make their child’s online experience a positive one.

For industry:

provides guidance on protecting children’s rights online for those companies that develop, provide or make use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The Guidelines have been developed to align with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and explain not only what companies can do to protect children’s safety online, but also how they can enable the positive use of ICTs by children. The Guidelines also include sector-specific checklists that recommend actions for mobile operators; Internet service providers; national and public service broadcasters; content providers, online retailers and applications developers; user-generated content; and hardware manufacturers.

For policy makers:

the guidelines will help individual countries plan for their strategies for child online protection in the short, medium and longer term. In order to formulate a national strategy focusing on online child safety, policy makers need to consider a range of strategies, including establishing a legal framework; developing law enforcement capabilities; putting in place appropriate resources and reporting mechanisms; and providing education and awareness resources.

WHAT CHILDREN DO ONLINE AND SOCIAL NETWORKING

Children and young people go online to connect with friends, and make new ones, to browse the internet for information, chat with others and play games. They may:

  • search for information or content on search engines like Google and Bing
  • share images and watch videos through websites or mobile apps like Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and YouTube
  • use social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter
  • write or reply to messages on forums and message boards
  • play games alone or with others through websites, apps or game consoles
  • chat with other people through online games, BBM (Blackberry Messenger), game consoles, webcams, social networks and tools like WhatsApp

When online, children and young people can learn new things, get help with homework, express themselves creatively and connect with friends and family.

ONLINE RISKS

Evidence is growing that the internet is becoming part of the offline risks and negative experiences that may harm children. Risks associated with the Internet and ICT devices include:

  • Contact or conduct risks: Cyberbullying
  • exposure to pornography
  • violent (User Generated Content)
  • sexual exploitation, child abuse images or child pornography
  • Sexting
  • other potentially harmful experiences
  • Cyberstalking

To be continued…Next week will expound more on the  Online Risks

Child Online Protection

What is Child Online Protection?

The internet is one of the most powerful communication and education tools ever invented, and has grown so fast with rapid changes that at time the users/audience find it had or challenging to keep up with.

Child/Youth Online Protection aims to tackle cybersecurity holistically, addressing legal, technical, organizational and procedural issues as well as capacity building and international cooperation.

Children are among the most active – and most vulnerable – participants online. Techinnovar’s motto is “We detect to protect“, but we are also committed to protecting the world responsibly. That means working together to ensure cyber security, enable cyber peace, and – perhaps most importantly – protect children online.

The legal, technical and institutional challenges posed by the issue of cybersecurity are global and far-reaching and can only be addressed through a coherent strategy taking into account the role of different stakeholders and existing initiatives, within a framework of an international collaborative network.

HISTORY OF CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION

In 1998, the United States enacted the Child Online Protection Act] (COPA) to restrict access by minors to any material defined as harmful to such minors on the Internet. In 1999, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the injunction and struck down the law, ruling that it was too broad in using “community standards” as part of the definition of harmful materials. In May 2002, the Supreme Court reviewed this ruling, found the given reason insufficient and returned the case to the Circuit Court; the law remained blocked. On March 6, 2003, the 3rd Circuit Court again struck down the law as unconstitutional, this time finding that it would hinder protected speech among adults. The government again sought review in the Supreme Court.

Notably, the court mentioned that “filtering’s superiority to COPA is confirmed by the explicit findings of the Commission on Child Online Protection, which Congress created to evaluate the relative merits of different means of restricting minors’ ability to gain access to harmful materials on the internet.” The court also wrote that it was five years since the district court had considered the effectiveness of filtering software and that two less-restrictive laws had been passed since COPA, one prohibiting misleading domain names and that given the rapid pace of internet development those might be sufficient to restrict access by minors to specific material. The court referred the case back to the district court for a trial, which began on October 25, 2006.

ITU launched the Child Online Protection (COP) Initiative in November 2008 as a multi-stakeholder effort within the Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) framework. The initiative brings together partners from all sectors of the global community to create a safe and empowering online experience for children around the world. COP was presented to the ITU Council in 2008 and endorsed by the UN Secretary-General, Heads of State, Ministers and heads of international organizations from around the world.

Protecting children online is a global challenge, which requires a global approach. While many efforts to improve child online protection are already under way, their reach has been more national than global.

CHILD/YOUTH ONLINE PROTECTION IN KENYA

Improved telecommunication infrastructure, fiber optic cables connecting the country to the rest of the world and massive investment in fiber connectivity have cut Internet charges, enabling many Kenyans to access cheap and high-speed Internet.

Google Kenya launched an online child safety campaign in February 18,2015 to promote responsible and positive use of digital technology for young people.

The Communication Authority of Kenya launched a campaign dubbed the “Be the Cop” The campaign seeks to protect children besides providing avenues for redress in the event of a cybercrime.  The campaign was launched during the Kenya Primary Schools Head Teachers Association (KEPSHA) Annual Conference in partnership with various stakeholders among them service providers Google, Orange, Airtel and Safaricom. The Department of Children Services, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), ChildLine Kenya are also other partners involved in the project.

Protecting children online is now a global challenge. In Kenya, protecting children online, is a concern of many parents, government, parents and multinational firms.

INTERNET

The internet is a connection of computers. Its a global system o interconnected computer networks that uses the standard internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) . It serves billlions of users globally.

According to Communication Authority of Kenya, research shows the tremendous growth of internet users from 3 million users in 2008 which was followed by a larger number gain in 2014, that added up to 23.3 million users and now 29 million Kenyans are able to access the internet representing close to 70% of the Kenyan population. More users are using mobile devices to access the internet amounting to 18.8 million users of the 29 million.  A total of 34.8 million Kenyans are mobile subscribers representing 85.5% of the population.

With a huge number of the users being youths, they have unprecedented access to the cyber space thus higher exposure to cybercrime, particularly due to the present uncontrolled nature of Internet access.

 

To Be continued…