Government acts on cyber bullies
Awesome that Judith Collins is making this a priority.
This week's events would not have taken place had i been able to do something to stop the harassment that i have been on the receiving end of for the past 18 months.
I know of people that would be locked up by now if inciting suicide on the internet had always been a crime.
For the past fifteen years - people have been under the impression that they can behave however they want on the internet because they can do it anonymously and deny that it was them. They don't have to be held accountable for their actions because they can be whoever they want to be from behind their computer screens. They aren't ashamed of their behaviour because no one can prove it is them.
At one stage over the last 18 months i had someone create a fake Facebook profile using my mug shot that i supplied to the Herald in order to show what P addiction can do to a person. They then sent me a friend request just to make sure that i was aware of what they were doing. This person also sent me numerous harassing emails over several months using a false online persona named Thomas Vivian. I wrote about my anonymous hater at the time. The email address that was emailing me matched the email address that had created this Facebook profile.
I did the only thing i could do at the time - i blocked it and ignored it.
I am so glad that - finally - something is being done to stop this kind of online bullying. Had something been done earlier - i would not have had to put up with what i have put up with over the past 18 months - and this past week would not have happened.
I would have known that i was not wasting police time if i made a complaint in relation to her behaviour. I would not have felt like i just needed to ignore it because getting upset was pointless and there was nothing i could do about it.
It is not just children that bully or that are the victims of bullies - and not everyone is as strong or as thick skinned as i am and able to just brush it off or turn the other cheek. Everyone has a breaking point and this week after having lies filed against me in court - i reached mine - and broke.
Other people's ways of breaking are much more serious and far more permanent.
It needs to stop.
Awesome that Judith Collins is making this a priority.
This week's events would not have taken place had i been able to do something to stop the harassment that i have been on the receiving end of for the past 18 months.
* A new offence of maliciously impersonating another person on the internet.
* Amending the Harassment Act to make it clear it covers racial, sexual and other harassment on the internet.
* Extending the Telecommunications Act's definition of misuse of a "telephone device"' to cover computers and other electronic devices.
* Applying the Human Rights Act to digital publications and designating cyberspace a "public place".
* Making incitement to suicide a criminal offence.
I know of people that would be locked up by now if inciting suicide on the internet had always been a crime.
For the past fifteen years - people have been under the impression that they can behave however they want on the internet because they can do it anonymously and deny that it was them. They don't have to be held accountable for their actions because they can be whoever they want to be from behind their computer screens. They aren't ashamed of their behaviour because no one can prove it is them.
At one stage over the last 18 months i had someone create a fake Facebook profile using my mug shot that i supplied to the Herald in order to show what P addiction can do to a person. They then sent me a friend request just to make sure that i was aware of what they were doing. This person also sent me numerous harassing emails over several months using a false online persona named Thomas Vivian. I wrote about my anonymous hater at the time. The email address that was emailing me matched the email address that had created this Facebook profile.
I did the only thing i could do at the time - i blocked it and ignored it.
I am so glad that - finally - something is being done to stop this kind of online bullying. Had something been done earlier - i would not have had to put up with what i have put up with over the past 18 months - and this past week would not have happened.
I would have known that i was not wasting police time if i made a complaint in relation to her behaviour. I would not have felt like i just needed to ignore it because getting upset was pointless and there was nothing i could do about it.
It is not just children that bully or that are the victims of bullies - and not everyone is as strong or as thick skinned as i am and able to just brush it off or turn the other cheek. Everyone has a breaking point and this week after having lies filed against me in court - i reached mine - and broke.
Other people's ways of breaking are much more serious and far more permanent.
It needs to stop.
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2 comments:
would definning "cyber space" as a "public place" not lead to a massive invasion of privacy? that would make all your email and facebook a public place.
john key claimed his coffee tape was private and not public. are we now meant to accept that all our digital conversations can be published as they have taken part in a public place?
Cyber space is already a public place. I learned that hard lesson a couple of years ago when a screenshot of something on my Facebook page ended up in The Herald and i have kept that in mind ever since.
I think in respect to bullying and the anonymous tactics that bullies try to use in order to get away with that behaviour - that any change that hinders that abuse of cyber space is a good thing.
John Key's teapot tape did not involve bullying so i am not sure how these law changes would have influenced the outcome of that saga.
It is my understanding that any changes recommended by Judith Collins in this article relate specifically to bullying rather than in general terms but who knows.
All i know is that if we don't behave in a way that we are shamed of then we have nothing to be worried about.
Anything to stop bullying has to be a good thing and i don't care if it encroaches on my privacy. Just like the law changes in relation to search and surveillance after the Urewera 4 thing - if you aren't doing anything wrong - these law changes won't affect us.
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