<p>Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Thursday said that social media companies must take complete responsibility to help stop the online abuse of players as their mental health can be affected if they are targeted.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Last week, Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial, West Brom's Romaine Sawyers and Chelsea's James Reece were subject to online racism.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"There are all types of different abuses and it has to be eradicated completely," Arteta told reporters. "I think social media has a big responsibility. Because then you talk about the mental health of players... and how exposed they are.</p>

<p>"I'm all open for people to have opinions, but not just to be insulting people, abusing people and using a screen behind a phone to say whatever you want about a person you don't know.</p>

<p>"That has to be eradicated because it's causing a lot of damage in football, a lot of damage to public people."</p>

<p>Last month, Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson and Karen Carney held talks with government ministers regarding online abuse and discrimination.&nbsp;</p>


Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Thursday said that social media companies must take complete responsibility to help stop the online abuse of players as their mental health can be affected if they are targeted.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Thursday said that social media companies must take complete responsibility to help stop the online abuse of players as their mental health can be affected if they are targeted. Last week, Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial, West Brom's Romaine Sawyers and Chelsea's James Reece were subject to online racism. "There are all types of different abuses and it has to be eradicated completely," Arteta told reporters. "I think social media has a big responsibility. Because then you talk about the mental health of players... and how exposed they are. "I'm all open for people to have opinions, but not just to be insulting people, abusing people and using a screen behind a phone to say whatever you want about a person you don't know. "That has to be eradicated because it's causing a lot of damage in football, a lot of damage to public people." Last month, Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson and Karen Carney held talks with government ministers regarding online abuse and discrimination.

'That has to be eradicated': Mike Arteta urges social media firms to help stop online abuse of players

<p>Premier League giants Chelsea have strongly condemned online racist abuse aimed at defender Reece James and urged the social media platforms to take strict actions against who engage in such "despicable behaviour".</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/west-bromwich-albion-contact-police-after-player-subjected-to-online-racism-360127" hreflang="en">West Bromwich Albion contact police after player subjected to online racism</a></p>

<p>The 21-year-old player took to Instagram to share the screenshot of the abusive messages he received on Instagram with the caption "something needs to change".</p>

<p>"Everyone at Chelsea is disgusted with the racist abuse Reece James received on social media on Friday evening," the Premier League club said in a statement.</p>

<p>"This club finds racism and all forms of discriminatory behaviour unacceptable."</p>

<p><b>ALSO READ:&nbsp;</b><a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/ole-solskjaer-brands-racist-abuse-of-manchester-united-players-disgusting-360138" hreflang="en">Ole Solskjaer brands racist abuse of Manchester United players 'disgusting'</a></p>

<p>This week, West Brom midfielder Romaine Sawyers, and Man Utd's Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial were also the victims of online racial abuse this week.</p>

<p>"We add our voice to those urging social media platforms and regulatory authorities to take stronger, more effective and more urgent action against this despicable behaviour," Chelsea said.</p>

<p>"Something needs to change and it needs to change now."</p>

<p>The British ministers met top English players on Monday to discuss online abuse and discrimination as part of a series of 'Future of Football' discussions.</p>

<p>Chelsea, who are eighth in the table with 30 points from 20 games, host Burnley on Sunday.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(Inputs from Reuters)</em></p>


Premier League giants Chelsea have strongly condemned online racist abuse aimed at defender Reece James and urged the social media platforms to take strict actions against who engage in such "despicable behaviour".

Premier League giants Chelsea have strongly condemned online racist abuse aimed at defender Reece James and urged the social media platforms to take strict actions against who engage in such "despicable behaviour". ALSO READ: West Bromwich Albion contact police after player subjected to online racism The 21-year-old player took to Instagram to share the screenshot of the abusive messages he received on Instagram with the caption "something needs to change". "Everyone at Chelsea is disgusted with the racist abuse Reece James received on social media on Friday evening," the Premier League club said in a statement. "This club finds racism and all forms of discriminatory behaviour unacceptable." ALSO READ: Ole Solskjaer brands racist abuse of Manchester United players 'disgusting' This week, West Brom midfielder Romaine Sawyers, and Man Utd's Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial were also the victims of online racial abuse this week. "We add our voice to those urging social media platforms and regulatory authorities to take stronger, more effective and more urgent action against this despicable behaviour," Chelsea said. "Something needs to change and it needs to change now." The British ministers met top English players on Monday to discuss online abuse and discrimination as part of a series of 'Future of Football' discussions. Chelsea, who are eighth in the table with 30 points from 20 games, host Burnley on Sunday. (Inputs from Reuters)

'Disgusted': Chelsea strongly condemns online racist abuse against Reece James

<p>A video ad from Nike Japan against bullying and racism that features biracial athletes and other minorities, such as those of Korean descent, has prompted a sharp online response including calls to boycott the company.</p>

<p>Japan has traditionally prided itself on being racially homogeneous, although successful mixed-race athletes such as tennis star Naomi Osaka are challenging that image.</p>

<p>The commercial, “Keep Moving: Yourself, the Future,” released on Nov 30, shows several teen girls bullied in school over their race or other differences, but who ultimately find confidence through soccer prowess.<br />
&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="ja">動かしつづける。自分を。未来を。<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/YouCantStopUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#YouCantStopUs</a><a href="https://t.co/EEkOkOOeLt">https://t.co/EEkOkOOeLt</a> <a href="https://t.co/aPnZcPAO05">pic.twitter.com/aPnZcPAO05</a></p>
— Nike Japan (@nikejapan) <a href="https://twitter.com/nikejapan/status/1332519583882862595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>One scene features a girl whose father is Black surrounded by fellow students, squealing and pulling her hair.</p>

<p>The video, viewed 14.1 million times on Nike Japan’s Twitter feed by noon (0300 GMT) Wednesday, had racked up 63,000 likes but also a cascade of critical comments from many who vowed never to buy Nike products again.</p>

<p>“Nowadays, you often see one or two people of different nationalities going to school perfectly peacefully. The one that’s prejudiced is Nike,” wrote one user named “hira1216”.</p>

<p>Another asked, “Is it so much fun to blame Japan?”</p>

<p>Although Japanese sports fans have celebrated Osaka, who counts Nike as a sponsor and makes a cameo appearance in the ad, she was once depicted as a cartoon character by another sponsor, Nissin, with pale hair and light brown hair, while a comedy duo said she “needed some bleach”.</p>

<p>Nike Japan was not immediately able to comment on the response but said on its website it believes in the transformative nature of sports.</p>

<p>“We have long listened to minority voices, supported and spoken for causes that fit our values,” it added.</p>

<p>“We believe sports have the power to show what a better world looks like, to bring people together and encourage action in their respective communities.”</p>


A video ad from Nike Japan against bullying and racism that features biracial athletes and other minorities, such as those of Korean descent, has prompted a sharp online response including calls to boycott the company.

A video ad from Nike Japan against bullying and racism that features biracial athletes and other minorities, such as those of Korean descent, has prompted a sharp online response including calls to boycott the company. Japan has traditionally prided itself on being racially homogeneous, although successful mixed-race athletes such as tennis star Naomi Osaka are challenging that image. The commercial, “Keep Moving: Yourself, the Future,” released on Nov 30, shows several teen girls bullied in school over their race or other differences, but who ultimately find confidence through soccer prowess. 動かしつづける。自分を。未来を。#YouCantStopUshttps://t.co/EEkOkOOeLt pic.twitter.com/aPnZcPAO05 — Nike Japan (@nikejapan) November 28, 2020 × One scene features a girl whose father is Black surrounded by fellow students, squealing and pulling her hair. The video, viewed 14.1 million times on Nike Japan’s Twitter feed by noon (0300 GMT) Wednesday, had racked up 63,000 likes but also a cascade of critical comments from many who vowed never to buy Nike products again. “Nowadays, you often see one or two people of different nationalities going to school perfectly peacefully. The one that’s prejudiced is Nike,” wrote one user named “hira1216”. Another asked, “Is it so much fun to blame Japan?” Although Japanese sports fans have celebrated Osaka, who counts Nike as a sponsor and makes a cameo appearance in the ad, she was once depicted as a cartoon character by another sponsor, Nissin, with pale hair and light brown hair, while a comedy duo said she “needed some bleach”. Nike Japan was not immediately able to comment on the response but said on its website it believes in the transformative nature of sports. “We have long listened to minority voices, supported and spoken for causes that fit our values,” it added. “We believe sports have the power to show what a better world looks like, to bring people together and encourage action in their respective communities.”

Japan Nike ad on bullying, racism sparks massive online response

<p>A 17-year-old Bangladeshi teenager has been awarded a prestigious global children’s award for taking action against cyberbullying and an online crime against children.</p>

<p>Sadat Rahman has been conferred with the&nbsp;2020 KidsRights International Children’s Peace Prize for achievement only few can think about. Rahman developed a mobile app to help teenagers report cyberbullying and cybercrime in the western&nbsp;district of Narail in Bangladesh.</p>

<p>“Serious action needs to be taken right now. Teenagers continue to remain vulnerable to online crime and cyberbullying, particularly in the times we live in,” Rahman said in a remote interview.</p>

<p><strong>Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladeshi-stars-comeback-after-islamist-death-threats-342847" hreflang="en">Bangladeshi star's comeback after Islamist death threats</a></strong></p>

<p>The ceremony, hosted by a&nbsp;Netherlands-based KidsRights foundation, was held online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Rahman has followed the footsteps of&nbsp;Nobel laureate and Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai and the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.</p>

<p>His mobile app is called "Cyber Teens" and puts children in contact with a team of youngsters, termed as&nbsp;Narail Volunteers. Rahman, too, is a part of this team of volunteers. This team then gets in contact with the local police officers and social workers and helps the victims out of situations of cyberbullying.</p>

<p><strong>Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/arzoo-raja-is-just-14-its-a-case-of-child-marriage-pakistan-court-341923" hreflang="en">Arzoo Raja is just 14, it’s a case of child marriage: Pakistan court</a></strong></p>

<p>The app also has a section of helpful tips and hints about different kinds of online behaviour, and tips about how to identify and avoid getting in contact with sexual predators of the internet.</p>

<p>As of now, the app has been downloaded around 1,800 times and the volume been successful in resolving nearly 60 complaints of youngsters so far. On the basis of these complaints, eight criminals have also been arrested by the local police officials. The complaints received had adults sending&nbsp;inappropriate messages and pornographic content to children</p>

<p>“The idea started after a 15-year-old girl committed suicide because of online bullying,” Rahman said. “I decided that teenagers needed help and that we should take action to try to avoid other children facing the same tragedy.”</p>

<p>The other two finalists for the award were a Mexican girl Ivanna Ortega Serret, 12, who fought water pollution, and Irish 18-year-old Siena Castellon, who created a website to help pupils with autism and severe learning disabilities.</p>

<p>Rahman has received prize money of&nbsp;100,000 euro ($118,000) which he plans to use for investment for projects, and further develop the app across Bangladesh “and hopefully to serve as a model for the rest of the world.”</p>


A 17-year-old Bangladeshi teenager has been awarded a prestigious global children’s award for taking action against cyberbullying and an online crime against children.

A 17-year-old Bangladeshi teenager has been awarded a prestigious global children’s award for taking action against cyberbullying and an online crime against children. Sadat Rahman has been conferred with the 2020 KidsRights International Children’s Peace Prize for achievement only few can think about. Rahman developed a mobile app to help teenagers report cyberbullying and cybercrime in the western district of Narail in Bangladesh. “Serious action needs to be taken right now. Teenagers continue to remain vulnerable to online crime and cyberbullying, particularly in the times we live in,” Rahman said in a remote interview. Also read| Bangladeshi star's comeback after Islamist death threats The ceremony, hosted by a Netherlands-based KidsRights foundation, was held online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Rahman has followed the footsteps of Nobel laureate and Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai and the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. His mobile app is called "Cyber Teens" and puts children in contact with a team of youngsters, termed as Narail Volunteers. Rahman, too, is a part of this team of volunteers. This team then gets in contact with the local police officers and social workers and helps the victims out of situations of cyberbullying. Also read| Arzoo Raja is just 14, it’s a case of child marriage: Pakistan court The app also has a section of helpful tips and hints about different kinds of online behaviour, and tips about how to identify and avoid getting in contact with sexual predators of the internet. As of now, the app has been downloaded around 1,800 times and the volume been successful in resolving nearly 60 complaints of youngsters so far. On the basis of these complaints, eight criminals have also been arrested by the local police officials. The complaints received had adults sending inappropriate messages and pornographic content to children “The idea started after a 15-year-old girl committed suicide because of online bullying,” Rahman said. “I decided that teenagers needed help and that we should take action to try to avoid other children facing the same tragedy.” The other two finalists for the award were a Mexican girl Ivanna Ortega Serret, 12, who fought water pollution, and Irish 18-year-old Siena Castellon, who created a website to help pupils with autism and severe learning disabilities. Rahman has received prize money of 100,000 euro ($118,000) which he plans to use for investment for projects, and further develop the app across Bangladesh “and hopefully to serve as a model for the rest of the world.”

Bangladeshi teenager awarded Children's Peace Prize for fighting cybercrime

<p>Football club Bristol City's Famara Diedhiou has been racially abused on an online platform after missing a penalty in match against Swansea where his side lost 1-0 on Saturday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Swansea's Connor Roberts gave the team a lead on the half time. But 27-year-old Diedhiou failed to level scores for the team on the 69th-minute penalty.&nbsp;</p>

<p>After the match, the Senegal international took to Twitter and posted a screenshot of a message with three banana emojis. The message was sent to the player on Twitter. Diedhiou captioned the post "Why?"&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We stand with Famara Diédhiou and anybody who has to suffer racism in any shape or form.<br />
<br />
There is no excuse or justification for this disgusting behaviour. <a href="https://t.co/szXRBVpY8k">https://t.co/szXRBVpY8k</a></p>
— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/BristolCity/status/1284580674775678977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>"We stand with Famara Diedhiou and anybody who has to suffer racism in any shape or form. There is no excuse or justification for this disgusting behaviour," Bristol said in a post on Twitter.</p>

<p>Earlier, Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha and Sheffield United's David McGoldrick were subjected to similar abuse on social media.</p>


Football club Bristol City's Famara Diedhiou has been racially abused on an online platform after missing a penalty in match against Swansea where his side lost 1-0 on Saturday.

Football club Bristol City's Famara Diedhiou has been racially abused on an online platform after missing a penalty in match against Swansea where his side lost 1-0 on Saturday. Swansea's Connor Roberts gave the team a lead on the half time. But 27-year-old Diedhiou failed to level scores for the team on the 69th-minute penalty. After the match, the Senegal international took to Twitter and posted a screenshot of a message with three banana emojis. The message was sent to the player on Twitter. Diedhiou captioned the post "Why?" We stand with Famara Diédhiou and anybody who has to suffer racism in any shape or form. There is no excuse or justification for this disgusting behaviour. https://t.co/szXRBVpY8k — Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) July 18, 2020 × "We stand with Famara Diedhiou and anybody who has to suffer racism in any shape or form. There is no excuse or justification for this disgusting behaviour," Bristol said in a post on Twitter. Earlier, Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha and Sheffield United's David McGoldrick were subjected to similar abuse on social media.

Bristol City's Famara Diedhiou subjected to online racial abuse

<p>In a bid to control abuse and harassment on Twitter, the social media giant on Thursday announced to limit the 'reply' option on its platform.</p>

<p>The new feature will allow users to control who can reply to their tweets, Twitter said at the annual CES tech conference.</p>

<p>According to the plan, laid out by Twitter at the conference, users will be able to choose four different settings for replies, Global, which would allow anyone to respond. Then the second setting will be Group, which would allow replies from people a user followed or mentioned; third will be Panel, or people mentioned in a tweet, and Statement, or no replies at all.</p>

<p>The company will start testing the feature early this year and it will be launched globally&nbsp;in the later part of the year.</p>

<p>"We want to help people feel safe participating in the conversation on Twitter by giving them more control over the conversations they start," the company said in a tweet.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">We want to help people feel safe participating in the conversation on Twitter by giving them more control over the conversations they start. We’ll be experimenting with different options for who can reply to Tweets in early 2020. <a href="https://t.co/SLlgboiPQu">https://t.co/SLlgboiPQu</a></p>
— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1215010239453384704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>Social media firms are under pressure to address harassment on their sites, which often occurs in unsolicited replies targeting women and minorities, and Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey has promised since 2018 to increase the "health" of public conversation.</p>

<p>The company had launched a feature late last year allowing users to hide certain replies on their tweets as a part of its efforts to clean up abusive content and make the social media platform more user-friendly.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


In a bid to control abuse and harassment on Twitter, the social media giant on Thursday announced to limit the 'reply' option on its platform. The new feature will allow users to control who can reply to their tweets, Twitter said at the annual CES tech conference.

In a bid to control abuse and harassment on Twitter, the social media giant on Thursday announced to limit the 'reply' option on its platform. The new feature will allow users to control who can reply to their tweets, Twitter said at the annual CES tech conference. According to the plan, laid out by Twitter at the conference, users will be able to choose four different settings for replies, Global, which would allow anyone to respond. Then the second setting will be Group, which would allow replies from people a user followed or mentioned; third will be Panel, or people mentioned in a tweet, and Statement, or no replies at all. The company will start testing the feature early this year and it will be launched globally in the later part of the year. "We want to help people feel safe participating in the conversation on Twitter by giving them more control over the conversations they start," the company said in a tweet. We want to help people feel safe participating in the conversation on Twitter by giving them more control over the conversations they start. We’ll be experimenting with different options for who can reply to Tweets in early 2020. https://t.co/SLlgboiPQu — Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) January 8, 2020 × Social media firms are under pressure to address harassment on their sites, which often occurs in unsolicited replies targeting women and minorities, and Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey has promised since 2018 to increase the "health" of public conversation. The company had launched a feature late last year allowing users to hide certain replies on their tweets as a part of its efforts to clean up abusive content and make the social media platform more user-friendly. (With inputs from agencies)

In a bid to combat online abuse, Twitter to limit replies

<p>WhatsApp has threatened legal action against those who publicly claim the ability to abuse its messaging platform, after the emergence of a raft of companies advertising products to bypass usage restrictions.</p>

<p>An investigation found in May that WhatsApp clones and software tools were helping Indian digital marketers and political activists bypass anti-spam restrictions in the run-up to India's general election.</p>

<p>Until now, WhatsApp has focused legal action on abuses for which it had found internal evidence.</p>

<p>However, the Facebook-owned company said in a post titled "Unauthorised usage of WhatsApp" that from December&nbsp;7 it would take action even if an entity merely made public claims of an ability to abuse its platform.</p>

<p>The company said this "serves as notice that we will take legal action against companies" for such abuses. A WhatsApp spokeswoman did not specify what sort of legal action it could take.</p>

<p>Reuters in May reported WhatsApp was being misused ahead of India's general election through the use of free clone apps and via a $14 software tool that allowed users to automate the delivery of bulk WhatsApp messages.</p>

<p>Tools purporting to bypass WhatsApp restrictions have also been advertised in videos and online forums aimed at users in Indonesia and Nigeria, both of which held elections this year.</p>

<p>Some firms in India also offered the chance to send bulk WhatsApp messages from anonymous numbers via a website, Reuters found.</p>

<p>Fighting spam has been a major issue for WhatsApp, especially in India, where it has more than 200 million users.</p>

<p>Last year, false messages circulating on WhatsApp sparked mob lynchings in India, following which the company restricted the forwarding of a message to only five users.</p>

<p>WhatsApp said it will also continue banning accounts based on machine learning. WhatsApp says it blocks more than 2 million accounts per month worldwide for bulk or automated behaviour.</p>


WhatsApp has threatened legal action against those who publicly claim the ability to abuse its messaging platform, after the emergence of a raft of companies advertising products to bypass usage restrictions.

WhatsApp has threatened legal action against those who publicly claim the ability to abuse its messaging platform, after the emergence of a raft of companies advertising products to bypass usage restrictions. An investigation found in May that WhatsApp clones and software tools were helping Indian digital marketers and political activists bypass anti-spam restrictions in the run-up to India's general election. Until now, WhatsApp has focused legal action on abuses for which it had found internal evidence. However, the Facebook-owned company said in a post titled "Unauthorised usage of WhatsApp" that from December 7 it would take action even if an entity merely made public claims of an ability to abuse its platform. The company said this "serves as notice that we will take legal action against companies" for such abuses. A WhatsApp spokeswoman did not specify what sort of legal action it could take. Reuters in May reported WhatsApp was being misused ahead of India's general election through the use of free clone apps and via a $14 software tool that allowed users to automate the delivery of bulk WhatsApp messages. Tools purporting to bypass WhatsApp restrictions have also been advertised in videos and online forums aimed at users in Indonesia and Nigeria, both of which held elections this year. Some firms in India also offered the chance to send bulk WhatsApp messages from anonymous numbers via a website, Reuters found. Fighting spam has been a major issue for WhatsApp, especially in India, where it has more than 200 million users. Last year, false messages circulating on WhatsApp sparked mob lynchings in India, following which the company restricted the forwarding of a message to only five users. WhatsApp said it will also continue banning accounts based on machine learning. WhatsApp says it blocks more than 2 million accounts per month worldwide for bulk or automated behaviour.

WhatsApp threatens legal action against public claims of messaging abuses

<p>Many women cannot express themselves freely on Twitter without fear of violence or abuse, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, even though the #MeToo campaign has helped women to speak out.</p>

<p>Abuses ranged from &#39;doxing&#39; - releasing personal documents such as a person&#39;s address or children&#39;s names - to posting nude pictures, the rights group said, as it launched a campaign to get Twitter to step up its response to violations.</p>

<p>&quot;Many women are logging onto Twitter to find death threats, rape threats and racist or homophobic slurs littering their feeds,&quot; Azmina Dhrodia, a researcher with Amnesty and author of its #ToxicTwitter report, said in a statement.</p>

<p>&quot;If Twitter is allowing violence and abuse against women to flourish on the platform, the danger is that someone experiencing that will censor or silence themselves as a result,&quot; she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.</p>

<p>Twitter was not immediately available to comment. In October, however, the company pledged to toughen its rules on online sexual harassment and impose stronger penalties for misconduct.</p>

<p>The report follows an international study this month that found women politicians on Twitter were judged more harshly than their male peers on appearance and marital status and were three times more likely to receive sexist comments.</p>

<p>Amnesty said it asked Twitter in January for information on how many reports of abuse it gets, the number of reports that were in violation of Twitter&#39;s rules, and its response times.</p>

<p>It published a reply from Twitter which said the data could be &quot;misleading&quot; as some users report content that they disagreed with for political reasons in a bid to get others blocked.</p>

<p>Twitter also noted it had made dozens of changes over 16 months to improve safety, and, according to Amnesty, said it &quot;cannot delete hatred and prejudice from society&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;We are not asking them to solve the world&#39;s problems. We are asking them to make concrete changes that truly demonstrate that abuse against women is not welcome on Twitter,&quot; Dhrodia said.</p>

<p>In a poll last year, Amnesty found a third of women who experienced online abuse stopped giving opinion. It found 43 percent of women in Britain and 22 percent in the United States felt Twitter&#39;s response to abuse or harassment was inadequate.</p>

<p>Twitter does have a number of tools to help users, including options to block followers, to change settings to avoid seeing certain words, and to report abuse.</p>

<p>In a written response to Amnesty, Vijaya Gadde, who is Twitter&#39;s general counsel, said limiting accounts that violated the service&#39;s rules on abuse had improved behaviour.</p>

<p>Gadde did say Twitter continued to see repeat offenders who create new accounts when suspended.</p>

<p>Twitter&#39;s hateful conduct policy states that the company does not &quot;tolerate behaviour that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another person&#39;s voice&quot;.<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Abuses ranged from 'doxing' - releasing personal documents such as a person's address or children's names - to posting nude pictures, the rights group said, as it launched a campaign to get Twitter to step up its response to violations

Many women cannot express themselves freely on Twitter without fear of violence or abuse, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, even though the #MeToo campaign has helped women to speak out. Abuses ranged from 'doxing' - releasing personal documents such as a person's address or children's names - to posting nude pictures, the rights group said, as it launched a campaign to get Twitter to step up its response to violations. "Many women are logging onto Twitter to find death threats, rape threats and racist or homophobic slurs littering their feeds," Azmina Dhrodia, a researcher with Amnesty and author of its #ToxicTwitter report, said in a statement. "If Twitter is allowing violence and abuse against women to flourish on the platform, the danger is that someone experiencing that will censor or silence themselves as a result," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Twitter was not immediately available to comment. In October, however, the company pledged to toughen its rules on online sexual harassment and impose stronger penalties for misconduct. The report follows an international study this month that found women politicians on Twitter were judged more harshly than their male peers on appearance and marital status and were three times more likely to receive sexist comments. Amnesty said it asked Twitter in January for information on how many reports of abuse it gets, the number of reports that were in violation of Twitter's rules, and its response times. It published a reply from Twitter which said the data could be "misleading" as some users report content that they disagreed with for political reasons in a bid to get others blocked. Twitter also noted it had made dozens of changes over 16 months to improve safety, and, according to Amnesty, said it "cannot delete hatred and prejudice from society". "We are not asking them to solve the world's problems. We are asking them to make concrete changes that truly demonstrate that abuse against women is not welcome on Twitter," Dhrodia said. In a poll last year, Amnesty found a third of women who experienced online abuse stopped giving opinion. It found 43 percent of women in Britain and 22 percent in the United States felt Twitter's response to abuse or harassment was inadequate. Twitter does have a number of tools to help users, including options to block followers, to change settings to avoid seeing certain words, and to report abuse. In a written response to Amnesty, Vijaya Gadde, who is Twitter's general counsel, said limiting accounts that violated the service's rules on abuse had improved behaviour. Gadde did say Twitter continued to see repeat offenders who create new accounts when suspended. Twitter's hateful conduct policy states that the company does not "tolerate behaviour that harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence another person's voice".

Twitter failing women as online abuse flourishes, says Amnesty

<p>Online abuse will be treated as seriously as offline offences, Britain&#39;s prosecution service said on Monday in new guidance on handling hate crimes.</p>

<p>The rules, which included guidelines on helping disabled and bisexual victims, were meant to encourage more people to come forward and press courts to impose longer sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service said.</p>

<p>&quot;This is a crime that&#39;s under-reported. Sometimes people feel that they just have to put up with it ... That&#39;s absolutely not the case,&quot; Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, told the BBC.</p>

<p>The new advice was in response to the growth of social media, the CPS said. There have been several high-profile instances of successful prosecutions of people who had abused lawmakers and other public figures online.</p>


The rules, which included guidelines on helping disabled and bisexual victims, were meant to encourage more people to come forward and press courts to impose longer sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service said

Online abuse will be treated as seriously as offline offences, Britain's prosecution service said on Monday in new guidance on handling hate crimes. The rules, which included guidelines on helping disabled and bisexual victims, were meant to encourage more people to come forward and press courts to impose longer sentences, the Crown Prosecution Service said. "This is a crime that's under-reported. Sometimes people feel that they just have to put up with it ... That's absolutely not the case," Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, told the BBC. The new advice was in response to the growth of social media, the CPS said. There have been several high-profile instances of successful prosecutions of people who had abused lawmakers and other public figures online.

Britain to treat internet hate crime as seriously as offline offences

<p>If you ever thought that the internet was free of any prejudice and that in its basic sense, it gives people equal rights to act and react, then you are wrong. The internet is anything but gender-neutral and&nbsp;there is a growing need for a feminist internet: one which has an equal space for women&nbsp;to sexual expression, consent and control of data.</p>

<p>Champion of the feminist internet,&nbsp;Anja Kovacs directs The Internet Democracy Project, an initiative at Point of View&nbsp;which works towards providing opportunities to people whereby they use the Internet informed and judiciously.</p>

<p>She points out, &ldquo;Women have been surveilled by communities and families for centuries. We know the impact that it has. Most people who are open to the kind of things we do can see the restrictions that are there to women that are not on men. This harms women&rsquo;s lives, shapes their lives in particular ways because they constantly have to be careful of what they are doing, where they are going--they constantly have to justify.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Trends reflect that India is like any other country where patriarchy is strongly steeped within the structure of the society. This often gets translated to the nature of communication communities have within themselves and enforces on individuals, majorly women.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There is evidence according to Anja that &ldquo;the more conservative the family is, the more restricted you are on the Internet&rdquo;.</p>

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<h5>The more conservative the family is, the more restricted you are on the Internet.</h5>
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<p><strong>Does it affect all women?&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>She adds,&nbsp;&quot;I think this is actually true for all women, for you and me as well as for the poorest of the poor. I think it plays out differently though depending on your background, location. &nbsp;Also, financial independence as we have seen that money allows you certain things that you will otherwise be restricted from. For example, your family might not be comfortable with you going out in the night but if they know you can take a taxi, you can get a ride from a friend they know, and you have a mobile phone with which they can be in touch with you constantly--then maybe it&rsquo;s ok. But you have to be able to afford all of that.&quot;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&ldquo;The fact that women are surveilled more than men is consistent. This divide might be sharper in India but I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s unique to India. A lot of surveillance in India in more conservative communities has really to do with the fears around women&rsquo;s sexuality and the importance of women&rsquo;s virginity for the reputation of a family. It&rsquo;s not just about keeping an individual woman safe but it&rsquo;s also about maintaining the reputation of the entire family and community. The weight of all that falls on women&#39;s shoulders.&rdquo;</p>

<p>On May 3, 2017, a village in UP banned the usage of mobile phones by women, as an order by Khap Panchayat but there&rsquo;s nothing new in the news. The same diktat was announced in several villages of UP, Haryana and Rajasthan in 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and even before. According to news reports, every time this ban was pronounced, it was because the Panchayat wanted to restrict women&rsquo;s communication with men and not vice-versa.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>In Muzaffarnagar, the banning of mobile phones was supported as though they are bad for girls, create spaces of privacy and independence that will lead to trouble. It should only be allowed ideally after marriage, definitely not before college.</h5>
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<p>According to Anja: &ldquo;In Muzaffarnagar, the idea (banning of mobile phones) was supported as though they are bad for girls, create spaces of privacy and independence that will only lead to trouble. It should only be allowed ideally after marriage, definitely not before college. However, the same rules do not apply to boys.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Sadly, this is not just restricted to the elders in Khap Panchayat as the same sentiment is shared by the rural womenfolk too.&ldquo;We met with a woman in Muzaffarnagar who happens to also work for women empowerment. She introduced us to the phrase &lsquo;chupke, chupke&rsquo; (hidden in English). She said that whenever you have to do something &lsquo;chupke chupke&rsquo; then it&rsquo;s always bad. Girls get phones from their boyfriends, stay in bathrooms or separate rooms for long and talk behind closed doors&rdquo;, narrates Anja.</p>

<p><strong>Social norms influence women&rsquo;s lives</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
Social norms affect women&rsquo;s role in the society, status, empowerment, and access to education and income in society, and consequently their relationship with mobile technology. It is often hidden within other, more commonly cited barriers that influence women&rsquo;s access to and use of mobile technology.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&ldquo;Village women only know that the green button is for picking up phone calls and the red one for disconnecting the phone&rdquo;, says a rural male from India. This, because women are only taught to do this on mobile phones, and that too in the company of others.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Why are women not allowed to use the Internet with privacy?<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&ldquo;It breaks my heart to tell you that a school teacher in a village told us that the Constitution cannot run at the cost of village way of life. He responded like this when we told him how ironical it was between what was being taught to young girls and what they were practising in real life. These girls who otherwise speak in Hindi, learn words like equality and rights in classrooms but are aware of the contradictions in their life. One girl even questioned us as to &lsquo;why is it that my brother can use the phone whenever he wants?&rdquo;, Anja responds.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
In this sense, desktops are appreciated by all as &ldquo;they are family owned, kept in a room where everybody can see what you are doing or is in a school where there is a supervisor to keep a tab on you&rdquo;.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Talking about rural families in small towns and conservative communities in India, they are usually dependent on agriculture which is reeling under agrarian distress at the moment. To build a future, these families understand the value of Internet and technology. While striving for upward mobility, most families are not enforcing a complete ban but monitored usage of the Internet among girls. Anja adds, &ldquo;For them, access to the Internet in private spaces doesn&rsquo;t work as those are essential to blocking relationships that families are uncomfortable with. Facebook thus became a taboo--as they assume that it is not for education but for marriage and to find love.&rdquo;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Gender gap in mobile phone ownership in the world (Source: GSMA report) (Others)</p>
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<p>An existing notion of the Internet being an evil in conservative communities of India and other low-and-middle-income countries reflect poorly on women&rsquo;s right to expression and freedom. There are 3.6 billion mobile internet users around the world, in which women on average are 14 per cent&nbsp;less likely to own a mobile phone than a man, which translates into 200 million fewer women than men owning mobile phones. Women in South Asia are 38 per cent&nbsp;less likely to own a phone than a man, highlighting that the gender gap in mobile phone ownership is wider in certain parts of the world. (According to GSMA Input into Report on the Digital Gender Divide, February 2017). &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Background profile of the woman and her family is very important to judge the level of discrimination and subjective treatment. All those times Delhi Metro leaked footages of couples cosying up in the train or platforms raised an alarm in public, we are forced to think how worse it would affect the people involved. Anja says, &ldquo;For a woman, there is an impact in a way there isn&rsquo;t for a man. It&rsquo;s true even for the most privileged woman because even though I might not adhere to a certain mindset but my neighbours will look at me in a particular way, people around me will look at me in a particular way; it&rsquo;s still a pressure you feel.&rdquo;</p>

<p>As part of a research to find&nbsp;&ldquo;who tames whom on the Internet&rdquo; and &ldquo;why are women policed in India on their Internet usage and access rights&rdquo;, these are some of the most popular answers recorded on a popular social media site:&nbsp;</p>

<p>A 28-year-old newly married girl from Aligarh wrote:&nbsp;&ldquo;He questions my character if I talk on Whatsapp after 7 pm, he thinks I do sexting.&rdquo;</p>

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<h5>He questions my character if I talk on Whatsapp after 7 pm, he thinks I do sexting.</h5>
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<p>A 20-year-old female student from Mumbai lamented:&nbsp;&ldquo;My face featured in one of the most popular searches on a porn website even though I have never had sex in my life. It was taken down after a formal complaint but I became a butt of jokes.&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
A 36-year-old male businessman from Ghaziabad audaciously comment,&nbsp;&ldquo;Why do you (girls) need the Internet? Who do you want to expose your body to? What else do you do on Facebook and Instagram&rdquo;</p>

<p>Reinforcing supremacy of one gender over another strengthens in its claim by citing these social norms. Research conducted by GSMA indicates that over centuries, using the same reasons of morality and culture, women have been denied access to technology, especially the kind that enables them to voice their opinion and look beyond.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to 2015 research on Connected Women titled Bridging the Gender Gap: Mobile Access and Usage in low- and middle-income countries by GSMA: Over 3 billion people in low- and middle-income countries do not own mobile phones, and most of them&mdash;1.7 billion&mdash;are estimated to be female. Nearly two-third&nbsp;of unconnected females live in the South Asia and East Asia &amp; Pacific regions which is not surprising given that these two regions are the largest in terms of population.<br />
&nbsp;</p>

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<p>India has the highest number of women without access to the internet and social media (Source: GSMA report) (Others)</p>
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<p><strong>Dilemmas of being online for women</strong><br />
&nbsp;<br />
Women are far behind in numbers in the usage of social media in comparison to men. As cited in the report by GSMA, there are roughly 3 men for every woman on Facebook in India. In 2015, Facebook had 111 million users in India, of which 84 million are men and only 27 million are women.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Three notable exceptions, however, are Egypt, where women use Facebook and Twitter more than men; China, where women and men use WeChat equally; and Jordan, where women and men use Twitter equally.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Apart from social norms and surveillance issues, women also face dangers in the form of cyber security issues while using social media. The term essentially includes everything under online abuse like trolling, sextortion, revenge porn and others.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Working extensively on these issues, Anja discusses, &ldquo;Trolls target both men and women but how men are targeted is very different from how women are targeted. With men it&rsquo;s more like &lsquo;you don&rsquo;t know what you are talking about&rsquo; but for a woman &lsquo;it&rsquo;s always about her sexuality&rsquo;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;This is what happened with Priyanka Chopra recently when she wore a dress to meet PM Modi. They used words like &lsquo;slut, whore&rsquo; and anything that she has achieved was easily forgotten. In a way, the troll is an extension of surveillance, if surveillance is about policing norms then trolling is policing norms on the internet. They tried to police Priyanka. It was their way of asking her to behave the way they idealise it, like a traditional Indian woman. They were perturbed by the fact that Priyanka, being a woman, is living a happy life as a successful and independent woman.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&ldquo;Trolling is about reinforcing fear on the internet.&rdquo;</p>

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<h5>Trolling is about reinforcing fear on the Internet. A friend of mine insists that our weapon and his are the same on the Internet. Use the keyboard and speak up!</h5>
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</div>

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<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Trolling is about reinforcing fear on the Internet. A friend of mine insists that our weapon and his are the same on the Internet. Use the keyboard and speak up!" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-share">&nbsp;</i></a></div>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Anja talks about a friend who has a knack of dealing with all trollers. She says, &ldquo;I know a woman who says that &lsquo;your weapon and his weapon are same on the Internet. &nbsp;I have a keyboard, he has a keyboard so then what the f#@! is holding you back? Speak up!&rsquo;&rdquo;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Anja believes that trolling is never progressive in nature. &ldquo;They won&rsquo;t ever say &lsquo;man you are so conservative, you should stand up for your rights. Trolling is always reinforcing power. It&rsquo;s a structural thing, linked with surveillance&rdquo;, she adds. &nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Police records indicate that women these days are most disturbed by the rise in crimes involving images, taken with the aim of morphing, revenge porn and sextortion. Anja says, &ldquo;Women&rsquo;s naked images have a power that naked images of men don&rsquo;t. You can&rsquo;t blackmail a man with naked images because the power is not the same. So who pays the price--disproportionately the woman. Few men who are convicted are usually those blackmailed by a guy in homosexual relationships.&quot;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&ldquo;The aim should be to expand space for women and not reduce the already narrow space. We need a much more concerted response. We advocate for non-legal responses as you can&rsquo;t go to the police and complain because your timeline is full of words like slut, &nbsp;bitch...That&rsquo;s really troubling.&quot;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&ldquo;Colleagues in Brazil came up with something called &lsquo;Safer nudes&rsquo;: Safer, not safe because you can never be sure. There are apps nowadays that allow you to delete messages from your phone as well as from the one you have sent. Also, there are apps that alert you when someone takes a screenshot of your photo. We need to have knowledge of these things. So if you are sending these images, then avoid Whatsapp because at least other apps will help you send in a safer way. Their dialogue is basically around empowering and giving the control back to women while creating their own space on the Internet.&rdquo;&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
A feminist by principle and action, Anja feels it important to start a dialogue for a feminist Internet: one which has a space for women gives them right to sexual expression, consent and control of data. The Internet is a big bad world for women and after all, &ldquo;people around you shape you, especially as a woman&rdquo;, she adds.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
(WION)&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>


Abused, trolled and barred from using the Internet, women are demanding a feminist Internet which gives them a free space

If you ever thought that the internet was free of any prejudice and that in its basic sense, it gives people equal rights to act and react, then you are wrong. The internet is anything but gender-neutral and there is a growing need for a feminist internet: one which has an equal space for women to sexual expression, consent and control of data. Champion of the feminist internet, Anja Kovacs directs The Internet Democracy Project, an initiative at Point of View which works towards providing opportunities to people whereby they use the Internet informed and judiciously. She points out, “Women have been surveilled by communities and families for centuries. We know the impact that it has. Most people who are open to the kind of things we do can see the restrictions that are there to women that are not on men. This harms women’s lives, shapes their lives in particular ways because they constantly have to be careful of what they are doing, where they are going--they constantly have to justify.” Trends reflect that India is like any other country where patriarchy is strongly steeped within the structure of the society. This often gets translated to the nature of communication communities have within themselves and enforces on individuals, majorly women. There is evidence according to Anja that “the more conservative the family is, the more restricted you are on the Internet”. The more conservative the family is, the more restricted you are on the Internet. × Does it affect all women? She adds, "I think this is actually true for all women, for you and me as well as for the poorest of the poor. I think it plays out differently though depending on your background, location. Also, financial independence as we have seen that money allows you certain things that you will otherwise be restricted from. For example, your family might not be comfortable with you going out in the night but if they know you can take a taxi, you can get a ride from a friend they know, and you have a mobile phone with which they can be in touch with you constantly--then maybe it’s ok. But you have to be able to afford all of that." “The fact that women are surveilled more than men is consistent. This divide might be sharper in India but I don’t think it’s unique to India. A lot of surveillance in India in more conservative communities has really to do with the fears around women’s sexuality and the importance of women’s virginity for the reputation of a family. It’s not just about keeping an individual woman safe but it’s also about maintaining the reputation of the entire family and community. The weight of all that falls on women's shoulders.” On May 3, 2017, a village in UP banned the usage of mobile phones by women, as an order by Khap Panchayat but there’s nothing new in the news. The same diktat was announced in several villages of UP, Haryana and Rajasthan in 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and even before. According to news reports, every time this ban was pronounced, it was because the Panchayat wanted to restrict women’s communication with men and not vice-versa. In Muzaffarnagar, the banning of mobile phones was supported as though they are bad for girls, create spaces of privacy and independence that will lead to trouble. It should only be allowed ideally after marriage, definitely not before college. × According to Anja: “In Muzaffarnagar, the idea (banning of mobile phones) was supported as though they are bad for girls, create spaces of privacy and independence that will only lead to trouble. It should only be allowed ideally after marriage, definitely not before college. However, the same rules do not apply to boys.” Sadly, this is not just restricted to the elders in Khap Panchayat as the same sentiment is shared by the rural womenfolk too.“We met with a woman in Muzaffarnagar who happens to also work for women empowerment. She introduced us to the phrase ‘chupke, chupke’ (hidden in English). She said that whenever you have to do something ‘chupke chupke’ then it’s always bad. Girls get phones from their boyfriends, stay in bathrooms or separate rooms for long and talk behind closed doors”, narrates Anja. Social norms influence women’s lives Social norms affect women’s role in the society, status, empowerment, and access to education and income in society, and consequently their relationship with mobile technology. It is often hidden within other, more commonly cited barriers that influence women’s access to and use of mobile technology. “Village women only know that the green button is for picking up phone calls and the red one for disconnecting the phone”, says a rural male from India. This, because women are only taught to do this on mobile phones, and that too in the company of others. Why are women not allowed to use the Internet with privacy? “It breaks my heart to tell you that a school teacher in a village told us that the Constitution cannot run at the cost of village way of life. He responded like this when we told him how ironical it was between what was being taught to young girls and what they were practising in real life. These girls who otherwise speak in Hindi, learn words like equality and rights in classrooms but are aware of the contradictions in their life. One girl even questioned us as to ‘why is it that my brother can use the phone whenever he wants?”, Anja responds. In this sense, desktops are appreciated by all as “they are family owned, kept in a room where everybody can see what you are doing or is in a school where there is a supervisor to keep a tab on you”. Talking about rural families in small towns and conservative communities in India, they are usually dependent on agriculture which is reeling under agrarian distress at the moment. To build a future, these families understand the value of Internet and technology. While striving for upward mobility, most families are not enforcing a complete ban but monitored usage of the Internet among girls. Anja adds, “For them, access to the Internet in private spaces doesn’t work as those are essential to blocking relationships that families are uncomfortable with. Facebook thus became a taboo--as they assume that it is not for education but for marriage and to find love.” Gender gap in mobile phone ownership in the world (Source: GSMA report) (Others) × An existing notion of the Internet being an evil in conservative communities of India and other low-and-middle-income countries reflect poorly on women’s right to expression and freedom. There are 3.6 billion mobile internet users around the world, in which women on average are 14 per cent less likely to own a mobile phone than a man, which translates into 200 million fewer women than men owning mobile phones. Women in South Asia are 38 per cent less likely to own a phone than a man, highlighting that the gender gap in mobile phone ownership is wider in certain parts of the world. (According to GSMA Input into Report on the Digital Gender Divide, February 2017). Background profile of the woman and her family is very important to judge the level of discrimination and subjective treatment. All those times Delhi Metro leaked footages of couples cosying up in the train or platforms raised an alarm in public, we are forced to think how worse it would affect the people involved. Anja says, “For a woman, there is an impact in a way there isn’t for a man. It’s true even for the most privileged woman because even though I might not adhere to a certain mindset but my neighbours will look at me in a particular way, people around me will look at me in a particular way; it’s still a pressure you feel.” As part of a research to find “who tames whom on the Internet” and “why are women policed in India on their Internet usage and access rights”, these are some of the most popular answers recorded on a popular social media site: A 28-year-old newly married girl from Aligarh wrote: “He questions my character if I talk on Whatsapp after 7 pm, he thinks I do sexting.” He questions my character if I talk on Whatsapp after 7 pm, he thinks I do sexting. × A 20-year-old female student from Mumbai lamented: “My face featured in one of the most popular searches on a porn website even though I have never had sex in my life. It was taken down after a formal complaint but I became a butt of jokes.” A 36-year-old male businessman from Ghaziabad audaciously comment, “Why do you (girls) need the Internet? Who do you want to expose your body to? What else do you do on Facebook and Instagram” Reinforcing supremacy of one gender over another strengthens in its claim by citing these social norms. Research conducted by GSMA indicates that over centuries, using the same reasons of morality and culture, women have been denied access to technology, especially the kind that enables them to voice their opinion and look beyond. According to 2015 research on Connected Women titled Bridging the Gender Gap: Mobile Access and Usage in low- and middle-income countries by GSMA: Over 3 billion people in low- and middle-income countries do not own mobile phones, and most of them—1.7 billion—are estimated to be female. Nearly two-third of unconnected females live in the South Asia and East Asia & Pacific regions which is not surprising given that these two regions are the largest in terms of population. India has the highest number of women without access to the internet and social media (Source: GSMA report) (Others) × Dilemmas of being online for women Women are far behind in numbers in the usage of social media in comparison to men. As cited in the report by GSMA, there are roughly 3 men for every woman on Facebook in India. In 2015, Facebook had 111 million users in India, of which 84 million are men and only 27 million are women. Three notable exceptions, however, are Egypt, where women use Facebook and Twitter more than men; China, where women and men use WeChat equally; and Jordan, where women and men use Twitter equally. Apart from social norms and surveillance issues, women also face dangers in the form of cyber security issues while using social media. The term essentially includes everything under online abuse like trolling, sextortion, revenge porn and others. Working extensively on these issues, Anja discusses, “Trolls target both men and women but how men are targeted is very different from how women are targeted. With men it’s more like ‘you don’t know what you are talking about’ but for a woman ‘it’s always about her sexuality’. "This is what happened with Priyanka Chopra recently when she wore a dress to meet PM Modi. They used words like ‘slut, whore’ and anything that she has achieved was easily forgotten. In a way, the troll is an extension of surveillance, if surveillance is about policing norms then trolling is policing norms on the internet. They tried to police Priyanka. It was their way of asking her to behave the way they idealise it, like a traditional Indian woman. They were perturbed by the fact that Priyanka, being a woman, is living a happy life as a successful and independent woman. “Trolling is about reinforcing fear on the internet.” Trolling is about reinforcing fear on the Internet. A friend of mine insists that our weapon and his are the same on the Internet. Use the keyboard and speak up! × Anja talks about a friend who has a knack of dealing with all trollers. She says, “I know a woman who says that ‘your weapon and his weapon are same on the Internet. I have a keyboard, he has a keyboard so then what the f#@! is holding you back? Speak up!’” Anja believes that trolling is never progressive in nature. “They won’t ever say ‘man you are so conservative, you should stand up for your rights. Trolling is always reinforcing power. It’s a structural thing, linked with surveillance”, she adds. Police records indicate that women these days are most disturbed by the rise in crimes involving images, taken with the aim of morphing, revenge porn and sextortion. Anja says, “Women’s naked images have a power that naked images of men don’t. You can’t blackmail a man with naked images because the power is not the same. So who pays the price--disproportionately the woman. Few men who are convicted are usually those blackmailed by a guy in homosexual relationships." “The aim should be to expand space for women and not reduce the already narrow space. We need a much more concerted response. We advocate for non-legal responses as you can’t go to the police and complain because your timeline is full of words like slut, bitch...That’s really troubling." “Colleagues in Brazil came up with something called ‘Safer nudes’: Safer, not safe because you can never be sure. There are apps nowadays that allow you to delete messages from your phone as well as from the one you have sent. Also, there are apps that alert you when someone takes a screenshot of your photo. We need to have knowledge of these things. So if you are sending these images, then avoid Whatsapp because at least other apps will help you send in a safer way. Their dialogue is basically around empowering and giving the control back to women while creating their own space on the Internet.” A feminist by principle and action, Anja feels it important to start a dialogue for a feminist Internet: one which has a space for women gives them right to sexual expression, consent and control of data. The Internet is a big bad world for women and after all, “people around you shape you, especially as a woman”, she adds. (WION)

The Internet is bad for Indian women

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