Protecting Children Online? - Cyberbullying Policies of Social Media Companies
Type
E-Book
Authors
Category
Education-General
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Publication Year
2019
Publisher
MIT Press Open, United States
URL
[ private ]
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
This book examines social media companies’ policies against cyberbullying or digital bullying in the context of children and youth. It bases its arguments upon an analysis of written corporate documents of fourteen major social media companies including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Ask.fm, among others, and interviews with social media company representatives, non-governmental organizations and e-safety experts that collaborate with companies to assist them in preventing bullying. Furthermore, the book provides an analysis of five cases where bullying and cyberbullying were linked to suicides of children in several countries (so-called “high profile cyberbullying incidents”) indicating a narrowing and simplification of the public debate around digital bullying which can result in policy outcomes that do not necessarily help children. The book raises transparency concerns around company self-regulation and how companies address the issue. While the more established companies tend to have more developed approaches and raise fewer concerns among regulators, a lack of evidence of effectiveness of companies’ policies and continuous independent evaluation is present with the more and less established companies alike. The book sets the results in the framework of dignity theory, arguing that digital bullying is a wider social and cultural problem, cautioning against vilifying technology and consequently moral and technopanics that can take place in the context of high-profile cyberbullying cases. Most importantly, the book sets the issue in the context of children’s rights and critically evaluates companies’ policies and “digital citizenship” educational strategies against their ability to advance children’s rights to protection and participation.
This book examines social media companies’ policies against cyberbullying or digital bullying in the context of children and youth. It bases its arguments upon an analysis of written corporate documents of fourteen major social media companies including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Ask.fm, among others, and interviews with social media company representatives, non-governmental organizations and e-safety experts that collaborate with companies to assist them in preventing bullying. Furthermore, the book provides an analysis of five cases where bullying and cyberbullying were linked to suicides of children in several countries (so-called “high profile cyberbullying incidents”) indicating a narrowing and simplification of the public debate around digital bullying which can result in policy outcomes that do not necessarily help children. The book raises transparency concerns around company self-regulation and how companies address the issue. While the more established companies tend to have more developed approaches and raise fewer concerns among regulators, a lack of evidence of effectiveness of companies’ policies and continuous independent evaluation is present with the more and less established companies alike. The book sets the results in the framework of dignity theory, arguing that digital bullying is a wider social and cultural problem, cautioning against vilifying technology and consequently moral and technopanics that can take place in the context of high-profile cyberbullying cases. Most importantly, the book sets the issue in the context of children’s rights and critically evaluates companies’ policies and “digital citizenship” educational strategies against their ability to advance children’s rights to protection and participation.
Number of Copies
1
