Victimization of children by cyberbullies and online groomers

Victimization of children by cyberbullies and online groomers: minor netizens facing the Web’s reality by Christos K. Spyropoulos The nature of the Net: milestone of modern free speech, anonymity, vast quantity of information, wide exposure to everyone, advanced technological applications to communicate, instant contact, easy access => instantaneous invasion in private life, direct effect on psychology, straightforward expression of our real selves, covered activity

Cyber-bullying: Definition, causes, methods, effects, legislation and case law ▪ Cyber-bullying: The situation in which a child, preteen or teen is continuously threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarassed or otherwise targeted by another minor using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones (handymobbing, Internet-mobbing). ▪ Cyber-stalking: net-bullying between adults

Traditional and online bullying • Common characteristics: defamation, verbal violence or threat for physical violence, stress of the victim, character of the bully, purpose of the harassment • Differences: degree of exposure, immediate effect on the victim, variety of ways to harm the victim

Ways of cyber-bullying (some examples) • Instant messaging to the victim using lewd language in chatrooms • Text messaging or mms sending to the victim using offensive photos or personal videos on mobile phones • Sending viruses to the victim’s pc or stealing his password • Revealing personal data of the victim on blogs • Sending junk e-mail or porn to the victim’s mailbox • Locking the victim out while playing interactive games • Masquerading on blogs and provoking attacks against the victim

Causes of cyber-bullying • Low academic self-concept, negative emotional relationship with parents, problematic school-related behaviour, internet- related dissocial behaviour, anger, frustration, social rejection, “revenge of the Nerd” syndrome in combination with… • a) …the immature ego of the child and the multiple technological devices of communication (webcams, mms, e-games e. t. c. ) • …b) the anonymity the Net offers (e. g. creation of multiple false identities and accounts)

Effects of cyber-bullying • Anxiety, depression, fear, low self-esteem, self -isolation, agressiveness, cyber-bullying back, suicidal ideation

Legal framework • U. S. : i) art. 18 U. S. C. § 875 (c) criminalizes the making of threats via the Internet, ii) Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act punishes with a fine and an up to 2 years imprisonment the transmission by electronic means of any communication intending to harass or cause substantial emotional distress to a person by showing severe, repeated and hostile behaviour

• Canada: publishing a web page or posting on a blogspot false information for a person that could entice other people to ridicule him is punished with up to 5 years imprisonment. • Greece: application of civil law legislation protecting the right to the name and the personality.

Case law • Spain: in 2006, a video showing a Down syndrome girl being mocked by her companions was posted on the Net • U. S. : i) Megan Meier case, Phoebe Prince case => suicide, ii) Jessi Slaughter case => revenge syndrome, threatening

Awareness campaigns and preventive measures • Spain: Protegeles, Pantallas Amigas, Actua Contra el Ciberacoso • U. S. : National Crime Prevention Council, STOP Cyberbullying, American Association of School Administrators • U. K. : National Childrens’ Bureau and Childline • European Commission: Saferinternet. eu

• Parents: calm, trustful and aware of the basic technology their children use (e. g. parental control like “Spectorsoft”) • Tech industry and game console manufacturers: self-regulation of advertisement and verification of games and mobile devices under age and braindevelopment criteria

• ISPs: make sure that the home pc has already installed parental control software when the connection is set up • Popular sites (Facebook, My. Space e. t. c. ): facilitate the report of cyberbullying and adopt a voluntary code of practice on the moderation of chatrooms based on user generated content • School: teachers with internet knowledge teaching the children to be safe online, to be intolerant to cyberbullies and report them and to socialize in “offline” activities (sports, reading e. t. c. )

Online grooming: Definition, causes, methods, effects, legislation and case law • Traditionally: an activity that takes place amongst animals or humans which, in a group, clean or maintain each other’s body or appearance • Online: the process of socialization during which an offender interacts with a child by getting to know him and befriend him in order to prepare him for sexual abuse

Grooming process • a) trying to be the child’s friend by discussing over general topics • b) isolating the child by chatting privately • c) gaining the child’s trust after having estimated the risk of being detected and after representing the new friendship as something to be kept secret • d) asking questions on sexual topics, sending porn pics or videos or requesting the child for cybersex or a face-to-face meeting • e) terminating the conversation with words of careness and willingness to repeat the communication very soon

Ways of online grooming • Often having created a fake account, the groomer tries to isolate his victim by instant messaging him and chatting privately with him. Having collected personal information about the child, the groomer asks the child to perform sexual acts in front of the webcam or through Internet telephony or chats with the child in coarse language • Even the mere sending of e-mails or text messages with sexual content with the purpose to allure the child and lead him to sexual abuse through an offline meeting • Online grooming as a pre-stage of child pornography and trafficking

Causes of online grooming • a) psychology: the pervert and sexually delinquent groomer-the anxious, enthusiastic and morally stressed child or teenager=> both feel free to chat online for sexual topics • b) parents’ and teachers’ lack of technological knowledge and effective communication with children • c) the socialization “culture” of the Net through blogging and chatting, the Web’s anonymity and massive flow of infiltrated information

Effects of online grooming • i) anger due to the manipulation • ii) emotional dependence on the groomer=> grief over the loss of a close friend • iii) shame for having been victimized • iv) anxiety of his personal videos or pics being exposed on the Net • v) stress when he receives pornographic material or when requested to perform sexual acts on the webcam • vi) rape, death • vii) depression, isolation, suicide

Legal framework • • • U. S. : i) 18 U. S. C. § 2422: the use of interstate mail to entice a minor to sexual activity is a federal offence, ii) the Protecting Children in the 21 st Century Act (2008) requires schools and libraries to adopt an internet safety policy for children U. K. : the Sexual Offences Act (2003) makes it an offence merely to online arrange a meeting with a child, for oneself or someone else, with the intent of sexually abusing the child Greece: law 3727/2008 art. 3§ 1 punishes with minimum imprisonment of two years the adult who, through the Internet, contacts with a minor under the age of fifteen and indulges his sexual dignity with gestures or indecent requests. If the act is committed repeatedly or if a meeting follows that contact, a minimum imprisonment of three years is imposed. If the adult’s contact is being made with a person that is presented as a minor under the age of fifteen, the minimum imprisonment imposed is one year and, if meeting has followed, a minimum of three years’ imprisonment is imposed. art. 4 imposes a minimum of two years and a fine from 50. 000 to 200. 000 euros to the adult who, by using Internet communication, suggests (and actively facilitates the contact) to another adult to meet a minor under the age of fifteen, with the intention to sexually abuse him.

Measures • • • Additional penalties to the groomer such as banning him for a period from having internet access except in a public library or barring him from being alone with a child or ordering him to register to sex offenders’ list or banning him for life from working with children Software applications which can work out a person’s age and gender using language analysis techniques and, in that way, uncover the groomers who enter childrens’ chatrooms masquerading as children Parents can also detect their childrens’ communication routine by accessing the “history” button, by saving copies of the conversations of their children in chatrooms, by installing privacy-filtration software (such as Netscape Nanny 5. 0) to block the transmission of their childrens’ personal information via the Net, by installing a key-logger software that saves all characters typed on the pc, by keeping the firewall and the antivirus software updated to prevent the groomer from accessing their childrens’ pc or by using a filtering software to block access to chat and instant messenger programmes

• • Internet safety education of children on how to behave while socializing through their Internet communication by following a code of conduct based on never giving out information about themselves such as their real name, age, phone number or address, never sending their photo to a stranger without asking their parents first, never downloading files from unknown senders and always reporting to the site moderator by clicking the “report abuse” button, by telling their parents when someone makes them feel uncomfortable, by adjusting their account settings so that only approved friends can message them or by clicking the “no picture forwarding” option on their social networking sites to prevent further forwarding of their photos, is of great significance in avoiding sexual predators Site’s moderators: by monitoring all uploads of kids’ images and keep the offensive ones out of public view or by detecting and deleting child-porn images through the use of developed technology systems such as image screening, keyword filtering, pattern analysis and disreputable URL blocking

• Police: a) U. S. : the Megan’s Law allows the law enforcement authorities to reveal the names, addresses and pictures of sex offenders, b) U. K. : the sex offenders’ register and the Sarah’s Law allows parents, carers or guardians to ask the police if someone with access to their child has a record or sex offences • Web community: ethical hackers using sophisticated software to sabotage illegal sites

Case law • Michael Williams case: performance of sexual acts in front of webcam and selling those videos and pics to others; meetings and abuse • Oliver Randall case: repeated texting , meeting and abuse of 40 children after taking indecent images of them • Mathew Knott case: posing as a minor, took indecent photos of his victim, who met and engaged in sexual activity

In a nutshell… • Internet Service Providers, tech-experts, site webmasters, network moderators=> cooperation with the police and the law enforcement authorities • Police: up-to-date with the technological advances in respect of the right to privacy • Parents, teachers: control and education of children on the risks of the false use of the Net, motivation of children to interact more in the real world • Need of a universal legal framework that will impose a common code of conduct and ensure the harsh and effective punishment of online predators