EU to tackle cyberbullying [ENN]
- Published: 11 January 2009
Source: ENN
As cyberbullying becomes more and more prevalent and serious -- consider the now-infamous Lori Drew cyberbullying case in the US -- the EU has stepped in and committed EUR55 million to establish a 'Safer Internet Programme' for kids. In Europe, more than one in every 10 kids using the internet has been bullied, contacted by strangers or encountered sexual or violent images online. And this figure is only going to get more serious, according to the EU, as more and more children regularly go online. And so this Safer Internet Programme, which will get started in 2009, aims to tackle issues such as grooming and bullying by making online software and mobile technologies more sophisticated and secure. One example of the kind of project that will be funded is a network of contact points where the public can report illegal or harmful content and conduct on the web. Meanwhile, here at home, the Government has launched a booklet called 'A guide to cyberbullying', which offers advice on how to identify bullying, how to prevent it and how to respond before things escalate. It seems, however, that Irish parents are somewhat ahead of the curve when it comes to monitoring their kids' online activity. According to an EU survey, 80 percent of Irish parents said they stay close to their children while they are on the net. Over half of Irish kids are not allowed use e-mail or instant messaging and more Irish family PCs have monitoring and/or filtering software than almost any other nationality in the EU. This diligence hasn't stopped incidents from happening though, with 11 percent of Irish parents reporting that their kids have asked them for help because of encounters they have had online. On a positive note, cyberbullying has been brought more into the public consciousness of late and certainly that awareness can only help.
