The Internet is a magical platform where users can communicate most directly. With the rapid development of technology and 5G networks, the use of networks has made life more and more convenient, and Internet has become an indispensable part of people’s lives. Especially with the outbreak of the epidemic, most people use the Internet to obtain data and information, so People have become dependent on the Internet. However, the Internet is not a perfect platform. Bad information content affects and persecutes people’s health, including bullying, harassment, violent content, hatred, pornography, etc. So how to reasonably organize the dissemination of bad information has become one of the top priorities at present.
What type of content is harmful on the Internet？
The most famous form of cyber-attack is cyber-bullying. Cyberbullying means that a person or a group of people is continuously attacked by negative remarks, causing psychological burdens and stress. According to statistics in June 2010, the highest Internet usage in Australia is between 14 and 17 years old, 91% of them use the Internet every week, and 10% of Australian students have experienced cyberbullying(5 Current Issues of “Internet Censorship”: Bullying, Discrimination, Harassment and Freedom of Expression | Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.). Cyberbullying challenges people’s human rights, such as people’s physical and mental health can be negatively affected, long-term bullying can lead to physical injury, self-harm, depression, etc.
Second is the impact of the spread of pornography on children and adolescents. Pornography can alter sexual interests, behaviours and relationships, and research has shown that media has a role in teaching adolescents, adolescents’ exposure to violence through the media, pornography and gender stereotypes can lead to Their worldview changing, and it has brought violent pornography into reality(Owens et al., 2012). This is undoubtedly a threat, and it is great harm to society, to the school, to the family, and to the young people themselves(Baxter, 2014).
In fact, there is a strong correlation between sexual violence and the content of pornographic violence, as confirmed in a study of teens. In a study in the United States, people who watched violent pornography were six times more likely to be sexually assaulted(Schwartz, 2010).
How to control and block the spread of bad information on the Internet in social, political and economic aspects?
The most direct method is through the unified supervision of the government, and the government establishes a special department to maintain network security. Australia has always attached great importance to the maintenance of cybersecurity. Gillard issued a strategic statement on cybersecurity in January 2013(Aiken, 2014). As Prime Minister at the time, Gillard’s priority for cybersecurity was the first. It is considered that a bad network environment is a huge threat to the country.
On January 15, 2010, Australia established the National Cyber Security Operations Center under the Ministry of Defense and spent high salaries to hire technical talents. It is known that the National Cyber Security Operations Center employs about 130 information technology experts, analysts and engineers. The organization maintains a high degree of supervision of the network environment during operation, and constantly follows up on high-tech aspects(Smith & Ingram, 2017). Tracking and solving problems such as network attack one by one has made a huge contribution to network security protection.
As one of the earliest countries in the world to formulate Internet management regulations, the Australian government has gradually promulgated various policies and laws to manage the security of the network environment. For example, the “Anti-Spam Law“(Australian Communications and Media Authority, 2019) and “Broadcasting Service Law” (Born & Prosser, 2001)to protect people’s lives, as well as the “Internet Content Regulations“, “Telecom Transmission Law“(Homeaffairs, 2019), “Digital Protection Law“(Dla piper, 2014), “Electronic Marketing Industry Regulations” to maintain network order, etc. The emergence of these different policies is undoubtedly the determination of government departments to punish behaviours that undermine network security. Relevant departments have assumed the responsibilities and obligations of network security, and will also implement different management measures according to the law.
The most important reason why Australia attaches great importance to network management is the physical and mental protection of minors. The Australian Government has a clear statement on the use of the Internet by minors. According to the law, Internet users in Australia must be at least 18 years old and complete account registration and login with real information. Minors need to be accompanied by family members or guardians when using the Internet(Esafety, 2022).
The Australian government published the “Internet Safety Plan” in May 2008(Guiochet et al., 2008). The purpose of the plan is to protect minors from the harm of unhealthy content when using the Internet and to block the spread of illegal and violent content, which mainly refers to the RC level(Farley & Barkan, 1998). Information, RC information includes drug use, pornography, sexual abuse of children, sexual violence, encouragement of terrorism, and the dissemination of such information is strictly prohibited in Australia.
From a technical point of view, Australia’s network environment management mainly uses harmful information filtering technology. The Australian government made a draft amendment to the Communication Services Act in 2009, which mandated that all Australian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use filtering technology to block illegal content from overseas websites. Australian internet service providers must install filtering systems within 12 months of the bill’s passage or face fines of up to $27,500 a day. The Australian people expressed strong support for this policy. According to a poll conducted by The Australian in early 2010, more than 80% of the public supported the government’s adoption of mandatory filtering measures to block websites with RC-level content(Guiochet, 2022).
The Australian government vigorously promotes cyber security culture, government conducts cyber security education in primary and secondary schools, emphasizing cyber security risk awareness. The Australian government has spent A$90 million filtering internet content for families with young children(Revell, 2021). For example, the government provides free software to be installed on the computer, which can block some unwanted websites. Social organizations in Australia also actively support cybersecurity education. For example, SOSO is a non-profit organization in Australia that provides cybersecurity protection for young people. They tell young people through the Internet how to pay attention to cybersecurity and how to protect personal privacy(Healey, 2022). Tip: Do not tell netizens your personal information, such as a home address, school name, etc., in order to better protect your safety offline. Australian schools also filter Internet content. For example, the network of primary and secondary schools will block some dating sites and anorexia sites. The school also sets up special courses to educate students on cybersecurity.
Conclusion
In view of the frequent occurrence of cyber violence at present, it is unfortunate, distorted and fragmented for those who regard internet platforms as their spiritual space. In public opinion, it hurts the public’s right to enjoy access to real information, and even hurts the physical and mental health of those who have been abused by the Internet, also the impact on the social atmosphere is extremely bad. Although online platform has great concealment, there is an opportunity for criminals to carry out cyber violence and bullying, but cyberspace is not a place outside the law. As citizens, we should take up legal weapons and say No bravely. Violence and bullying have zero tolerance, leaving the perpetrators with nowhere to hide. At the same time, the supervision department should increase supervision, improve the supervision mechanism, implement the main responsibility of information content management, create a clean network space, protect a healthy spiritual place, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the Internet.
Reference Lst:
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