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The author puts forward that giving access to computer to children from developing countries is a remarkable opportunity for them but could alsobe a threat as they are not being familiarised with the dangers of the Internet.

Looks at the recent proposed amendments by the federal government to the 25-year-old Sex Discrimination Act which aim to give greater legal protection to victims under 16 of online sexual harassment and cyber-bullying. Critics say the proposed changes are "too little to late."

This is my blog post about cyberbullying, it also addresses how to counter cyberbullies by reporting their violation of any EULA, and Terms of Service to the provider.

Nick Xenophone wants a new law introduced that  could see people being jailed for up to 5 years if they lie about their age to children.  The idea has come about after the murder of Carly Ryan in 2007. 

A group of teenagers in the US have been charged after months of bullying led to victim committing suicide. The district they live in has since passed a law requiring anti-bullying to form part of the curriculum.  

How on earth can he guarantee that this will be 100 percent accurate - with no overblocking, and no underblocking!?!?! And in this interview, he advises that this is not a limit on freedom of speech and that the internet should not be considered a special platform.

This article discusses how the Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has dismissed the Internet as a special medium, claiming that it is nothing more than, "just a communication distrbution platform." Which, is quite short sighted, as the notion of open source, crowd sourcing, collective/collecting intelligence, collaborative intelligence is achievable because of the Internet. Conroy also claims that his filter is 100 percent accurate..." which begs to question, according to who? Filtering, content only prevents access, it does not prevent those individuals from crimnimal acts offline, nor does it address how to protect victims from their predators.

This article discusses two studies that were released March regarding bullying and how they correlate to cyberbullying. The majority of cyberbullying made commentary on appearence and body shape. The first study concluded that bullying was on the decline, while the other study illustrated how discussing such matters with an adult or friend would most likely improve the situation. Though these studies may seem common sense, one of the startling issues that appears to have been noted during this study was that some of the answers from educators and friends alike were, "told me to stop tattling," "ignored what was going on," "told me to solve the problem myself," "blamed me," "ignored it," "made fun of me." It seems that those in position to help, may often try to ignore or deny help to those who have outwardly asked for it, which may also be an issue regarding cyberbullying; awareness and how to appropriate deal with reports on cyberbullying.

According to a survey by Newsweek, although young people know the risks online, they choose not to protect themselves. In cases such as this, is it the Government's role to step in and protect people? Or is it the user's own fault for not taking precautions when they know the risks?

It is the first time in North America that assisted suicide laws have been applied to the Internet. William Melchert-Dinkel has been charged with assisting in 2 suicides, where he posed under several aliases and made suggestions of suicides from medication to advice on how to tie nooses. Though the argument was that suicide is the behaviour done unto oneself, and suggestion is freedom of speech, this is no different than cyberbullies who also suggest the same thing, however this heinous individual offered information to those that were indanger of commiting suicide. Based on the wording in the state of Minnesota, assisted suicides do not require the actual physical presence of the person, hence the prosecution stands.

Social networking sites are serving as a new breeding ground for sex offenders who use popular sites such as Facebook and Skype to prey upon minors. Is tougher legislation the answer or does more need to be done to keep children safe online.

NIck Xenophon spruiking his Private Senator's Bill on The Punch today, which would make it illegal for an adult to misrepresent their age while communicating with a minor online.