Parental Decisions on Sharing Their Children's Private Information on Social Media among Families in Jakarta Area

The practice of publishing photos and videos containing children’s private information on social media—also known as sharenting—is popular among parents in Jakarta. Embarking from the debate about privacy paradox in which it is believed that privacy concern does not predict someone’s behaviors in managing his/her private information online, this research aims to reveal the considerations underlying parental decisions when sharing their children’s private information through social media and their perceived risk toward their children’s online safety. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher conducted interviews with 20 parents in Jakarta with at least one child younger the 13 years. The result suggests that the perceived benefit of sharenting exceeds its perceived risks. The study also found four reasons why parents exercise sharenting: to document their children’s development, to gain social support from their followers on social media, and to overcome loneliness as new parents and the low self-efficacy of parents in protecting children’s privacy on the internet. Unsurprisingly sharenting through social media has become a growing trend among parents. This finding thus will be useful as a groundwork to develop an intervention program regarding relevant sharenting in the context of Jakarta, Indonesia.

Gender-based cybercrime is likely to rise in India

Significance The experience of surfing the net is vastly different for women, who have been disproportionately at the receiving end of cybercrimes that undermine their safety online. As elsewhere, the forms of online offence included bullying, stalking, impersonation and non-consensual pornography. Impacts Lack of online safety will limit the female customer base of digital platforms. Entrenched weaknesses of the judicial systems impede reporting and conviction of cybercrime. Civil society demands for a personal data protection law will rise.

Social media and online safety practices of young parents

Studies of parents’ online safety concerns typically centre on information privacy and on worries over unknown third parties preying on children, whereas investigations into youth perspectives on online safety have found young people to focus on threats to safety or reputation by known individuals. The case of youth who are themselves parents raises questions regarding how these differing perspectives are negotiated by individuals who are in dual roles as youth and parents. Using interview and ethnographic observation data from the longitudinal Young Parent Study in British Columbia, Canada, this analysis investigates social media and online safety practices of 113 young parents. Online safety concerns of young parents in this study focused on personal safety, their children’s online privacy and image management. These concerns reflect their dual roles, integrating youth image and information management concerns with parental concerns over the safety and information privacy of their own children.

Improving Online Accessibility for Individuals with Photosensitive Epilepsy

Content with flashes, bright colors, and repeated patterns can cause seizures and migraines when viewed by people with photosensitivity. Exposure to seizure-inducing content is a serious risk in online environments, as evidenced by documented instances of people with photosensitivity being exposed to seizure-inducing material while playing video games or using social media.My thesis focuses on improving online safety and accessibility for people with photosensitivity by measuring the prevalence of seizure-inducing content online, developing new tools for detecting seizure-inducing content, and constructing a broad framework for protecting against seizure-inducing content at the level of content creators, platforms, and content consumers. Through this work, I hope to help build a better understanding of the current state of photosensitive risk online and contribute new solutions for mitigating seizure-inducing content with minimal adverse effects on the browsing experience for users with photosensitivity.

China will not prioritise women’s online safety

Significance This is only the most recent example of a long litany of occurrences where the interests and concerns of girls and women have taken second seat to the interests of corporate profits. In China, the regulatory and political manifestation of online gender issues is different. Impacts Hyper-nationalist rhetoric from the government will likely fuel misogynist messaging online. As China’s online regulations tighten, the operating environment for Western firms will become more complex. The government will protect senior officials accused of crimes against women.

UK Online Safety Bill faces tough legislative road

Headline UK: Online Safety Bill faces tough legislative road

Understanding Online Safety Through Metaphors: UK Policymakers and Industry Discourses About the Internet

This article explores how metaphors about what the internet is inform policymaker and industry discourses, when they propose solutions on internet safety. More specifically, it analyzes documents by key players in this debate during a period when the UK government proposed direct regulation of online harms. The study finds that policy documents construct the internet primarily as a “place” that is separate from offline experience; and to a smaller extent as a “tool” that can be abused if it falls in the wrong hands. The article argues that these constructions obscure any links between online and offline risk, and that they legitimize solutions which may not take into account the social roots of online harms. It also suggests that the discourses of policymakers and SNS companies differ in the degree of agency they attribute to users, indicating a discrepancy in their approaches as direct regulation is introduced in the UK.