The Casualties of a War Without Heroes
The community of internet users is starving for a leader.
Not a leader in size, technology, finance, data, algorithms. A leader in
thought, imagination and daring vision.
We had such things in simpler times, but when things got
complicated in 2005–2006 no one wanted to discuss policy, threats, impact or
how we should protect users. No one wanted to be that leader. The internet
would self-regulate. Users would be the leaders. That was the idea anyway.
In the internet world we all strive to be the first, the
best, the successful, the brightest. Yet it seems, none of us wants to take on
the responsibilities inherent in being the leader — taking responsibility for
the bad and the good. Even doing the assessment of the bad and good takes a
thick-skin that much of our digital world seems to have lost overnight. Those
few industry thought leaders that do exist lead in finding ways to allow
dangerous, hateful and unregulated content. Very few companies in the web world
are pro-actively self-examining their impact on the young, the vulnerable or
the susceptible segments of the world.
Being the leading social media platform, search engine, blog
or forum, the leading e-commerce, fund raising or currency exchange all carry
an inherent responsibility. In part, that responsibility comes from the
information each company manages and the success they have achieved as a result
of marketing their user’s data. They owe the users. You owe them a safe, secure
stable product. Ultimately, if you plan to keep your users, you owe them your
best efforts to remain current and grow the product itself. There is also the
obligation to the industry community and staff. However, there are other
obligations to owners, investors, stockholders and profit, which are often
prioritized over all others.
There has been progress. Money is now being actively
funneled towards the study, detection and removal of hateful, exploitative and
dangerous content. But the solution to the problem is not as easy as saying,
“we are on the right path.” The new research, the new monitoring and
enforcement efforts, the money now being spent all shows that there was indeed
a problem. For over 10 years internet users, young and old, have been subject
to seriously problematic content. Just as some people have benefited greatly
from the internet, others have been greatly harmed. Personal lives, careers,
self-esteem and even basic human judgement and trust, for some, has suffered.
In these cases, the damage was often inflicted with a few mouse-clicks.
Repairing the harm is not nearly as easy. The ability for the average person to
address the damage from cyber-stalking, exploitation, reputation assassination,
bullying and abuse can easily take orders of magnitude more effort to undo that
it took to inflict in the first place.
It is time to look towards healing, repairing and
rebuilding. Trying to bring back to life some of what has died in so many
internet users. Maybe even making them whole again.
As it is so easy to inflict pain on others online, it was
equally easy to not address the problem. Just as it takes many more times the
effort to address the hate than to make it, so healing the residual damage
caused by the hate will take significant effort.
The time to start is now. We need to begin enabling people,
not just to flag hateful content, but to level the playing field by making
those who post hateful content responsible for defending it with the same
effort required by their targets to have it removed.
This starts with making resources available to targets and
victims of bullying, abuse and cyberhate. Those most often victimized are
predominantly, marginalized, underrepresented and under resourced.
Targeted Groups and People Need to be Empowered.
Funds and guidance for victims to hire experts to help
undertake critical tasks required to make a case for their plight to the
Internet platforms. In order to gain the attention of the platforms and to
establish credibility for their situations, it is necessary for victims to
identify the volume, frequency, nature and character of the problem material as
well as the underlying connection or source the material may have to
established hate groups, organizations or political movements. No small
undertaking. This type of research often requires technology, resources and
experience not available to many. The documentation, presentation and
implementation of solutions is often a specialized practice. If legal
assistance is required there are certainly expenses. The resources needed can
easily represent tens of thousands of dollars in time and money, which the
targets must endure and that the perpetrator did not.
Another option is for targets of abuse to acquire training
in how to handle the tasks necessary to identify, characterize, communicate it
to platforms and mitigate cyber abuse. This may not be as expensive, but there
is a learning curve. Not everyone is equally capable of doing the types of
research necessary and sometimes, time is of the essence.
Counseling for victims must be made available. Regardless of
how they have been affected, whether by bullying, revenge porn or scams, they
all need to know they are not alone. Support groups led by industry sponsored
experts could provide an immeasurable benefit to victims. The perpetrators of
abuse must also be made aware that their victims have allies and resources.
Just as victims often give-up trying to fight the hate, perhaps abusers will be
dissuaded when they realize victims are well equipped and supported to thwart
them.
As with physical abuse, cyber-abuse is also cyclical.
Victims become angry, resentful and desensitized, which makes it easy for them
to become the next generation of abusers.
Investing in the future of the Internet, not just the technology,
or the applications, but in developing better users as well benefits everyone.
This is not something that should be left to third parties alone.
This is not just about making a more civil internet, but
about the survival of the internet. About keeping regulation limited and
responsibility high. About making room for all opinions, but safeguarding
facts, reality and history. Democracy is about speaking up without fear.
Democratization of the internet starts, first and foremost, with users being
able to participate without fear. Users who need a parachute should have a
parachute, users who need a safety net should have a safety net and users who
want a trapeze should have one. None of this is beyond our capabilities. None
of this is beyond justification.
