Category Archives: Freedom of the Press

Law & Cyberbullying

<reddit.com/r/vancouver> <the power of reddit>

Dr. Alec Couros AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit re: his experiences with the cat fishing scams <I received a call yesterday, but nobody spoke> <info for romance scam victims>

catfish

What are the root causes of cyberbullying? How do teens react to cyberbullying? What is the role of social media in fostering youth civic engagement and digital citizenship? What are the challenges as youth develop their identities and social relationships both on and offline? <Amanda Todd>

How should teachers react to videos depicting local teen violence? How can teachers empower their students to deal with bullies constructively? When should parents get involved? What is the role of law (e.g., we can’t criminalize those we should protect)? <CTV Vancouver News, Feb 2, 2016>

Have you ever been bullied in your personal or work life? Where you ever the bully? Do you have any stories to share about cyberbullying in your school?<Academic Bullying & Mobbing>

As Shariff (2015) asks, how do we (educators, parents, policy makers, and the legal community) develop create ways to facilitate the growth of digitally empowered children and young adults? What are your recommendations for the development of safe school environments and anti-oppression education (e.g. teacher education in legal, digital, and media literacy; engage youth in policy development; educate the news media; sensitivity training for law enforcement personnel; updates to existing legislation in the Youth Criminal Justice Act)?

How might we strengthen Canada’s laws against cyberbullying? What are the challenges of the WITS (Walk Away, Ignore, Talk it Out, and Seek Help) program that the Canadian government is promoting to reduce cyberbullying?

According to Canadian Law, can children be deemed child pornographers when sexting non-consensual intimate images? What are the negative long and short-term consequences of criminalizing young people?

What are the public’s rights to open courts and press freedoms? Without the ability to pursue legal actions anonymously, will bullied children feel safe to pursue legal action to protect themselves (without fear of revictimization)?

Dr. Jennifer Fraser <why we must refuse to submit to bullying>
Abuse of Power <Teaching Tolerance>
Are you a responsible digital citizen? <A Bullying Story> <Digizen Game>

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Hactivism

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Aaron Swartz: hacktivist, genius, martyr, leader in the charge for information to be free, victim of the rights and freedoms for which he stood

The Internet’s Own Boy: “The story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz. From Swartz’s help in development of the basic internet protocol RSS to his co-founding of Reddit, his fingerprints are all over the internet. But it was Swartz’s groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two year legal battle with the Federal government. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26. Aaron’s story touched a nerve with people far beyond the online communities in which he was a celebrity. This film is a personal story about what we lose when we are tone deaf about technology and its relationship to our civil liberties” (iTunes, 2014).

Take Action: sign the petition for greater accountability and better oversight for Federal Attorney misconduct

Tim

Gunmen attack French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris #freespeech #mediaed

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Stefan Constantinescu, Quartz, January 7, 2014–Three gunmen stormed the offices of a French satirical magazine called Charlie Hebdo around lunchtime on Wednesday (Jan. 7), brandishing AK-47s and a rocket launcher. The assailants killed 12 people and wounded five others. Among those dead are the magazine’s publisher, Stéphane Charbonnier; three cartoonists: Jean Cabut, Georges Wolinski, and Bernard Verlhac; and writer and economist Bernard Maris. Gérard Biard, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, was in London at the time.

Bernard Cazeneuve, the country’s interior minister, says the country is now on high alert and that his main goal is “to neutralize these three criminals who have committed this barbaric act”. President François Hollande has condemned the attacks, calling them “an exceptional act of barbarism”, and that France needs to “show we are a united country” by being “firm and strong”. German chancellor Angela Merkel echoed similar sentiments, saying today was an “attack on freedom of speech and the press, core elements of our free democratic culture. In no way can this be justified.”

Charlie Hebdo is no stranger to controversy. The magazine, started in 1969, drew ire in 2006 (link in French) for republishing cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that had appeared previously in Norways Jyllands-Posten. In 2011 it was firebombed (paywall) after publishing a issue purportedly “guest edited” by the prophet and entitled “Sharia Hebdo.” One year later it published more cartoons, prompting France to close embassies and schools in 20 different countries.