INTRODUCING THE OFFICE OF THE CHILDREN’S eSAFETY COMMISSIONER

The Office of the eSafety Commissioner was recently established by the Australian Government, and has now been operating for six months. The commissioner aims to create a safe environment for Australian children online.

On top of providing accurate and up to date information about all things cybersafety, the Office has also established a comprehensive complaints system that aims to help children who are experiencing cyberbullying or harassment online. If your child is experiencing such difficulties online, the Office of the eSafety commissioner is an invaluable resource, but unfortunately it is not well known by most parents. Here is Australia’s first eSafety Commissioner, Alastair MacGibbon, discussing the vision and aims of the office.

As mentioned in the video, the office has established a cyberbullying complaints system. This system, which is backed by legislation, aims to remove offensive material within 12 hours. Participants in the program are notified of offensive material present on their sites by the commissioner, and are asked to have the content removed within 12 hours or face further action. An extensive number of social media services, including Ask.fm, Flickr, Twitter, Yahoo!7 Answers, Facebook, Google+, Instagram and YouTube, are all participants in the program.

In the first six months of operation, the office has made tremendous progress in dealing with cyberbullying, having resolved over 40 complaints about serious cyberbullying, completed over 2000 investigations into illegal online content, and referred over 600 children to the Kids Helpline.

So, how can the office of the eSafety commissioner help you? One in five Australian children experience cyberbullying each year, this can have a dramatic impact on their safety and wellbeing, and the office of the eSafety commissioner is here to help protect your child. If your child is under the age of 18, and is being bullied online, you can lodge a complaint to the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner. The following video provides you with more information about what to do before you lodge your complaint, and how your complaint will be dealt with.