In the news today, "people who create fake online profiles with the intent to harass, humiliate, or "troll" others could soon face criminal charges, according to new U.K. guidelines."
About time, is what I think. Attacking someone from behind an anonymous mask is not only cowardly, but lacks honesty. And it always surprises me how much the online crowd just sucks it up or joins in without any critical evaluation of the anonymity.
This in the news, too: "Offenders can mistakenly think that by using false online profiles and creating websites under a false name their offences are untraceable. Thankfully this is not the case and an online footprint will be left by the offender."
"The new rule also extends to Internet users who open an account under the name of the victim and share information in such a way that it appears as though the victim has themselves made the statements."
I am not against freedom of speech, but using the internet in this anonymous way is not an exercise of freedom. If a person wants to publicly say something critical, then they should at least be called on to put their name to it. Anything less is a licence to bully and we don't allow that in our playgrounds so why promote it in adult life?
2 comments:
I agree that it is about time something is been done about it. I watched a movie once called "cyberbully" which, I think, shows how serious this is and the dangers it can cause (movie link from Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be6gjjWdUw4 ). I wish something had been done about this earlier as most young people believe this is the easiest form to get to someone. As a victim of cyberbullying I know how horrible it can be. One fake identity turned out to be someone, who I thought, was a close friend of mine. I feel like cyberbullying gets swept under the rug too often and we need to do something about it.
Thank you for writing this post.
Thanks for popping by, Flutter bony… Sorry to here about your experience. I think it is important not to let any kind of bullying define you. It defines the bullies, but not you. You are more than that, better than that, and those who really know you will see that. Take care of yourself, and be strong - always be strong.
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