No Images? Click here Welcome to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner!The eSafety Office’s role has officially expanded! Passing through parliament last week, the amended bill formally changes our name and reflects our expanded responsibilities. We look forward to helping all Australians navigate the online world safely. Image-based abuse: a global issueEarlier this month, the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative in the US released important statistics relating to image-based abuse (IBA). Alarmingly, they found that 1 in 8 US social media users have been targets of IBA. Additionally, our UK friends started a support hotline last year dedicated to helping victims of image-based abuse. These recent movements highlight the global nature and importance of this issue. We’re currently developing an online complaints portal for Australians who experience image-based abuse, launching in the second half of this year. Together with education and prevention, we can help combat this unacceptable practice. Read our latest blogWhether it is ‘fake news’ or popular media, young people at risk of self-harm or suicide may be vulnerable when exposed to harmful online content. Peer reviewed by Headspace and Reachout, our latest blog provides great tips for identifying vulnerabilities and guidance on how to engage in important discussions with young people. How to navigate Snap MapSnapchat’s latest update includes a brand new feature—Snap Map—giving users the option to share their location with friends. While sharing real-time and precise location information can be concerning, it’s also a great opportunity for parents and educators to start important conversations about online safety and the pros and cons of location services with their young people. We’ve updated our Snapchat guide to give you helpful tips on how to manage settings. eSafetyWomen: TrollingRecent media has highlighted the effects and extent of trolling on everyday Australians. Trolling is never ok. If you’re being anonymously abused online, we have some tips to help you protect yourself.
Online safety on the edge conference - program to be released soon!We’re very close to sharing our incredible line-up of national and international thought leaders that will be speaking at our conference in November. Don’t miss out! No More Harm conference: 2017 wrap-upOur Office proudly participated in the annual No More Harm Conference hosted by the Bully Zero Australia Foundation in Brisbane. Our commissioner Julie gave a keynote presentation discussing our growing community role and was warmly received by the audience of over 150 representatives from education, resource, support and government organisations. Rewrite Your Story with SiennaThe latest film from our Rewrite Your Story program features the story of Sienna. We encourage teachers to discuss cyberbullying issues with their students and help build digitally resilient and respectful young people. |