Online bullying: Privacy v safety

Some people say ISPs should be more proactive in tackling online bullying

In among the stories of terrible abuse sent to Newsbeat as part of Radio 1's bullyproof week, many listeners are looking to technology to solve the problem.

John from London got in contact to recommend the software he uses to check his family's internet activity.

Michael from Gosport suggested websites employ more moderators to watch what users are talking about.

However, Chris in Bristol called online monitoring "wishful thinking by the insecure fascists".

These are typical views in the safety versus privacy debate.

The same discussion is going on between the technology companies and anti-bullying campaigners.

One argument is about whether internet service providers (ISPs) or websites should scan everything we type and block behaviour that could be seen as bullying or abusive.

Bill Jenkins runs Securus, a company that puts monitoring software on school computers: "There's technology available - it has been available for many years - that captures text and images.

"The service provider has a responsibility for the traffic that travels across their networks. The provider of the actual website or social networking website also has a responsibility.

"They don't really want to know. Legislation will be necessary to force change."

'Shameful response'

Users who bully may find their internet connection cut off under their ISP's terms and conditions.

Most have rules about not using their service to abuse or harass other people.

But action is usually only taken in response to a complaint from the victim.

According to the charity Bullying UK, ISPs should deal with the issue before it gets to that stage.

"They are not doing anything like enough. It is shameful," said spokesperson Liz Carnell.

"They are active on issues like copyright infringement because they have a financial incentive to do something about it.

"They do not have the same incentive to deal with children who are being bullied."

Information overload

In a statement, the Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) said: "Monitoring of the internet is not something that ISPs do, as the mass of content on an ISP's networks means it is impossible for them to monitor all the content carried.

"Internet users are encouraged by ISPs to protect themselves with tools provided by their ISPs such as spam filters, virus protection and parental controls."

Facebook uses 'keyword scanning' to try to detect absuive content

Social networking sites say they are also working to help users protect themselves. That includes educating young people about ways to block or remove online bullies.

But, because of their global scale, monitoring every single communication may not be possible, according to Colm Long, director of online operations at Facebook's European headquarters in Dublin.

"We do some scanning on a keyword basis on some of our pages just to help us understand content-wise what that page is talking about.

"But we are translated in over 60 different languages all over the world. What we do is track behaviours that we see across these different groups and across different languages."

There is also some scepticism about the technological solution among Newsbeat listeners.

Paolo from Dublin was angry that tighter controls were even being discussed: "What like? Install software in ISPs to monitor every keystroke and webpage visited on your computer... what have we become?"

Jam said: "Parents should take more hands-on approach, and I wish people would stop blaming ISPs."

Exasperated Brit from London said, simply: "What about switching off the power button."