How do we prevent online abuse and digital hostility? Is it a matter of better platform regulation, government policy or better education for users? Where does responsibility for the impact of online abuse on everyday users lie, particularly when experiencing abuse is having a known impact on user health and wellbeing?
This panel is part of an ARC Discovery project which aims to provide a comprehensive account of Australians’ experiences of online hostility, abuse, trolling and extremist hate speech, which have increased substantially over the past decade. Analysing the policy and regulatory environment, the experiences of diverse Australian users and digital workers, we argue that national and international policy development, enhanced platform regulation and supports for users are urgent remedies. The project is developing an account of how practices, attitudes and everyday innovations can contribute to regulation and education policy and social change.
This Q&A-style panel—part of the DERC Digital Hostility and Disinformation Lab series—explores some of the issues of online abuse from the perspective of cultural change, the legal, social and policy issues that emerge, the challenges facing policy-makers and practitioners, and where the intersection between policy and social change might best be found.
Panellists include: Professor Catharine Lumby (The University of Sydney), Dr Jennifer Beckett (The University of Melbourne, Dr Jay Daniel Thompson (RMIT University), Associate Professor Benedetta Brevini (The University of Sydney), Rhyle Simcock (QUT Digital Media Research Centre) and Professor Rob Cover (RMIT University).