Bob Kessinger on Cyberbullying

OurBlook interview with Bob Kessinger, VP of operations, CyberPatrol

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, called for new federal laws to define and deal with cyberbullying and cyberharassment. Do you think such laws are necessary or unnecessary, and why?

BK: In my opinion, federal laws will need to be written or amended to address cyberbullying. In the past couple of years, there have been cyberbullying laws enacted in several states and in 2008 there was a bill proposed in Congress.

If such laws would be good, what might they say, and what would be the drawbacks and/or difficulties in composing them?

BK: There are tremendous difficulties in composing as well as enforcing these types of laws. The first challenge is in defining the scope of cyberbullying, as it is a very broad concept. Secondly, since a vast amount of cyberbullying occurs amongst minor children, a question arises on how to enforce the law and penalties. Finally, as with all federal laws, there is often no recourse when the crime takes place outside the U.S.

Your company deals with cyberbullying. Tell us what it does, and have you seen first-hand any specific examples of harm to people that such laws would try to prevent?

BK: CyberPatrol is really a software security suite. Rather than simply focusing on threats that can harm a computer, it focuses on those threats that can harm a person.

Web Filtering -- provides parents a way to limit access to inappropriate sites.

Time Management – Allows parents to set.

ChatGard – this feature allows parents to monitor both inbound and outbound messages.

Program Management – Allows parents to set restrictions on programs, such as online games.

Monitoring/Reporting -- Parents can use this feature to understand a view what their kids are doing online.

Furthermore, we are very excited about an upcoming project that will introduce predator and bully alerts, so that parents can better understand and monitor potential threats to their children.

Is this mainly an issue involving young people?

BK: Cyberbullying is a relatively new phenomenon, but it is an extension of the classic schoolyard bully. So while it is most prevalent amongst younger kids, there really is no age limit. We have seen and heard of adults bullying their children’s peers, which can have dire consequences ... the most infamous case being that of Meghan Meier, who committed suicide after being bullied online by the mother of a former friend.

Even more, though, we are seeing workplace bullying and we need to recognize that as these young people age, they enter the workforce and we expect to see a continued rise in adults using similar bullying tactics.

Do you make a distinction between online material and printed material, or should any new laws be tailored just for online?

BK: Any new law would likely need to be tailored to include online communications. Historically, bullying escalates into a physical threat, and clearly today cyberbullying can also lead to a physical threat. Thus I think that any law would need to include or to work with existing laws.

What makes cyberbullying so much more complex than traditional bullying is what I refer to as the “Technology Multiplier effect.” The Internet is massive with over 1.5 billion people online worldwide. It is also instantaneous, with a message being posted, instantly available to that number of people. It is portable, with access available not only through the computer, but through cell phones and games. And, most notably, it is perceived to be anonymous. Adding all these elements increases the speed, efficiency, reach and viciousness with which a bully can inflict harm on his victim. Among these elements, I believe the perceived anonymity of the Internet is the one that helps fuel cyberbullying the most.

Many people feel that any regulation of the Internet should be done informally by users, not formally by government. Your thoughts?

BK: It’s not an either/or question. Instead I think there are three main building blocks to help ensure online safety. One of these is Education, which we can call the user base and another is legal, which we can call Government. The third, however, is just as important, and I’ll call that Industry/Technology. And the analogy I’d use is the automobile industry.

Just as new drivers must learn the rules of the road, online users must educate themselves to keep safe online. For instance, you have to learn the parts of a vehicle, look both ways before entering an intersection, don’t drink and drive, don’t speed. For online safety, don’t provide personal information, don’t post inappropriate photos, don’t use the Internet to harm someone else, do report bad behavior, etc.

The second building block is from a Legal/Government perspective. There are traffic laws and penalties for breaking those laws designed to make our roads safer, and the same needs to be done to help ensure online safety.

The third building block is Industry/Technology. We’ve all seen the evolution of the automobile industry where innovations in seat belts, airbags, anti-lock braking, daytime running lights and more have made driving generally safer today than 30 years ago.

As a company committed to providing a safer online experience, CyberPatrol and many of our competitors are providing tools to keep up with these expanding dangers. But we are not where the automobile industry is.

Part of any cyberbullying laws must hold what we refer to as “Enabler Sites” accountable. In our book, “Surfing Among the Cyber Sharks,” we define these as legitimate sites that can be easily used for questionable or illegal activities. Examples of these sites are private transaction sites like Craigslist or EBay or social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. They have not done enough to protect their users and if they are held accountable, they will be forced to innovate.

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