Better Internet for Kids

As the technological world continues to evolve, new applications and challenges continue to emerge. Among these challenges is, of course, an increase in cases of online bullying – so much so that the helpline 179 of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services (FSWS) receives around 60 reports every month about abuse on the internet. Let’s take a closer look at this case study around difficult family situations. 

What is BeSmartOnline! and what is its purpose? 

BeSmartOnline! in Malta is a project co-financed by the European Union, and is formed by four members: the Foundation for Social Welfare Services (FSWS), the Office for the Children's Commissioner, the Department of Education, and the Police of Malta, specifically their Cybercrime Unit. 

The FSWS runs the Safer Internet Centre, which involves all the knowledge gained on the safe use of technology. Through it, many sessions and workshops are organised in schools with teachers, other professionals in the social field, and parents as well since they play a very important role. 

The Foundation also has a helpline that anyone can call if their child is being cyberbullied, or facing any other type of abuse on the internet. 

There is also the ChildWebAlert hotline, which is an online platform where people can report illegal content, such as websites that include photos and videos of children being sexually abused. 

Can you share with us real experiences you have encountered of abuse on the internet, or reports you have received? What are the most reported issues in the last five years? 

Cyberbullying is the most prevalent type of abuse. In cyberbullying, you never have a situation where the children do not know the person who is bullying them. You almost always have a situation where the child or teenager was already being bullied at school or in another youth centre or setting, and then the situation escalated on the internet, even though sometimes you have cases where it started online and stayed solely online. 

Cyberbullying is often 'targeted’, meaning that the bullies are doing this to the victim with a specific purpose, whether it is to hurt them or scare them. For example, the exams might be coming up, and the bullies don’t want the victim to pass or be successful, and therefore choose to make the victim’s life difficult. 

In Malta, there was a case where the victim’s father had just died, and bullying started to happen around his death. Other cases concerned family illnesses, where victims were told phrases like 'may your mother get sick now and have a tumour in her head.' In these cases, the targeted victims were always talking teenagers, and when we observed the motive behind the abuse on the internet, we often came across the element of imposed control and wickedness. We had a case where a teenager made a video on TikTok, and they were originally really happy that it became popular. At the same time, there were those who took the photos she had on Instagram, where there were maybe a few that were not particularly flattering, and they created this profile with the name 'Ugly Peeps' and published the photos there. Unfortunately, this profile also went viral, and everyone started teasing and body-shaming the victim. 

Other than cyberbullying, we also see abuse concerning the dissemination of intimate photos. Here, you have the legal aspect, which is quite important because if the prosecutors are over 14 years of age, they can be brought to court even if they were the ones to have produced the material in the first place. 

In Malta, there were also cases of grooming - even coming from certain positions of control. We may not hear much about this type of abuse because there are not many people who report it to this day. In such cases, when you look at the scripts of the chats, you often notice phrases like 'this is a secret between us', denoting manipulation, and therefore, the child, who is vulnerable, finds it very difficult to report. 

Which is the age group that more often ends up being a victim of abuse on the internet, and what impact does this type of abuse have on the victim? 

Teenagers are the ones who end up being the victims the most, even though we are seeing that the age is gradually going down, and this is also because children are starting to use the internet from a younger age. We are having children aged 7 or 8 who already have an account on SnapChat or TikTok. Sometimes, we receive reports of children aged 8 who end up being a victim of cyberbullying, and sometimes, they are the bullies themselves. We had a situation where a boy in Year 6 started talking constantly in a sexual way in class, and he even started mentioning the rape of girls. Then, it was noticed that he was spending a lot of time alone and watching Japanese cartoons aimed at adults instead of children, and he was getting his ideas and language from there. 

Regarding the impact that online abuse can have on the victim, it varies according to the case. Abuse in itself always creates a certain kind of anxiety in the victim. This depends a lot on the circumstances of the period the victim is going through. For example, it could happen that someone telling me 'you are ugly' today doesn’t really affect me, but it might in the future, or if it’s constantly repeated over time. It could also be that I’m already going through a difficult time, and thus I will be more vulnerable. 

Internet users should understand that when one posts or writes something online, the person is leaving evidence behind, and this should serve as a lesson to everyone. 

What support do you offer these victims? 

The Maltese Safer Internet Centre provides personalised support on a one-to-one basis in person and online, extending beyond technological assistance to platform-specific help. We maintain close contact with most platforms, which is particularly useful when we need to swiftly remove content, such as in cases where a fake profile has been created to bully a girl, and we want to prevent its further spread. 

In some instances, we recommend reporting to the police. A case occurred last summer where a girl did not go out for an entire summer due to the threats of violence she received if she would. We cannot always discern who is bluffing and who is making genuine threats, so we always recommend reporting to the police. Therefore, when dealing with threats or sexual motives, where minors are threatened to send photos of themselves, we often involve the police. 

Can you share a success story that you have had in recent years? 

One success story involves a 15-year-old girl who adheres to the traditional Muslim practice of wearing a hijab when outside of her home. While she was at home, she was not wearing her hijab and was chatting with a boy online. He took screenshots of her without her consent and began to threaten her that he would share the photos with the Muslim community if she did not comply with his demands. 

The girl was understandably frightened and hesitant to confide in her parents, fearing their reaction and potential repercussions. The boy, sensing her vulnerability, continued to escalate his threats, blackmailing her into meeting him for sexual purposes in exchange for not exposing the photos. 

In jurisdictions where minors require parental or guardian accompaniment when filing a police report, we worked with the girl to gain her mother's trust and encourage her to disclose the situation. Upon reviewing the online conversations, the mother immediately contacted the police, and they were able to stop the perpetrator swiftly. 

This article was sourced from the following website. 

Find out more about the work of the Maltese Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.