Media experts yesterday said that education on the proper use of social media and other online platforms is more important than the stipulations of specific laws tackling cyberbullying.
The call for more aggressive measures from the government to address issues generated by bullying on the Internet was triggered after actress and model Peng Hsin-yi (彭馨逸), more commonly known by her stage name, Cindy Yang (楊又穎), allegedly committed suicide early last week after reading vicious comments against her posted on Facebook.
National Chengchi University professor Huang Wei-wei (黃葳葳), head of the Institute of Watch Internet Network (iWIN), a government-funded organization that accepts various complaints over online comments and turns them over to administrative agencies, said iWIN was authorized by Article 46 of the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法) to assist the government in ascertaining whether Internet platforms are able to abide by self-disciplinary rules.
“Platform operators are obligated to remove content suspected of violating the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act,” Huang said. “Restricted content must not be available on the same page as content for children and young people. They must also set up a gateway page before users access restricted content, informing users that they will be redirected to a different Web page.”
“Meanwhile, people requesting access to restricted content on a platform must be asked to log onto the platform first, and the platform must have a moderator to prevent certain users from posting irrational statements and abusing the platform at the expense of other users based on the site’s privacy terms,” she said.
However, Huang said that the government should incorporate issues related to Internet safety in primary-school textbooks, starting from the first grade.
“You cannot just teach children to go online or set up an account on Facebook without telling them how to use these tools wisely or avoid certain traps on the Internet,” Huang said, adding that the institute has produced many short video clips on verbal abuse over the Internet to educate the public about relevant issues.
Although many parents have asked the government to offer specific measures to address these issues, Huang cited many legal experts who have suggested that existing laws are sufficient in handling slanderous remarks made over the Internet.
She also said that some cyberbullying incidents happen simply because of children’s inability to control their emotions, adding that the institute wants to give young people the chance to correct their mistakes, lest they breach the Child and Youth Sexual Transaction Prevention Act (兒童及少年性交易防制條例).
“The point is that children know what they have done wrong and are willing to change. If you simply impose all these punishments on them, they could harbor more grievances and make more vicious comments online in retaliation,” she added.
Vice Premier Simon Chang (張善政) said in a forum on Tuesday that the government would be accused of manipulating public opinion if it proposes regulating online comments, adding that the legitimacy of such legislation must be supported by sufficient cases.
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