How Facebook polices bullies on its platform
After being bullied on Facebook last year, 13-year-old Christchurch girl Chelsea O’Byrne died in a suspected suicide.
The teenager who bullied her has been ordered by a judge to delete her Facebook accounts, among other measures.
But what about the social media giant – how responsible is it?
Netsafe chief executive Martin Cocker said: ‘‘If you make money by running a community then yes, you should accept some responsibility for keeping that community safe . . . On the flip side, they are not the ones doing the bullying.
‘‘No-one has been bullied by Facebook . . . they are bullied by other New Zealanders or other individuals and those others are responsible for the harm that is caused.
‘‘So we want more help from Facebook, but we need to ensure the responsibility for those solutions lies with those who do the harm.’’
Secondary Principals’ Association New Zealand vice president Vaughan Couillault said: ‘‘It’s hard to blame Facebook because it’s individuals writing the comments.’’
It would be like blaming the manufacturers of marker pens for the things that were written with them.
‘‘Responsibility still lies with the author. If the author is a minor, the parents and [teachers] have a responsibility.’’
However, Facebook had made bullying ‘‘relentless’’ and hard to monitor and police, he said.