YouTube’s New Tools Attempt to Address Online Harassment

Online harassment and abuse can take many forms. Threating and hateful comments turn up across online communities from newspapers to blogs to social media. Anyone posting online can be the target of these comments, which cross the line from honest disagreement to vengeful and violent attacks. This behavior is more than someone saying something you don’t like or saying something “mean” – it often includes ongoing harassment that can be nasty, personal, or threatening in nature. For survivors of abuse, threatening comments can be traumatizing, frightening, and can lead some people to not participate in online spaces.

YouTube recently created new tools to combat online abuse occurring within comments. These tools let users who post on their site choose words or phrases to “blacklist” as well as the option to use a beta (or test) version of a filter that will flag potentially inappropriate comments. With both tools, the comments are held for the user’s approval before going public. Users can also select other people to help moderate the comments.

Here’s a summary of the tools, pulled from YouTube:

• Choose Moderators: This was launched earlier in the year and allows users to give select people they trust the ability to remove public comments.

• Blacklist Words and Phrases: Users can have comments with select words or phrases held back from being posted until they are approved.

• Hold Potentially Inappropriate Comments for Review: Currently available in beta, this feature offers an automated system that will flag and hold, according to YouTube’s algorithm, any potentially inappropriate comments for approval before they are published. The algorithm may, of course, pull content that the user thinks is fine, but it will improve in its detection based on the users’ choices.

Survivors who post online know that abusive comments can come in by the hundreds or even thousands. While many sites have offered a way to report or block comments, these steps have only been available after a comment is already public, and each comment may have to be reported one by one. This new approach helps to catch abusive comments before they go live, and takes the pressure off of having to watch the comment feed 24 hours a day.

These tools also offer survivors a means to be proactive in protecting their information and safety. Since many online harassment includes tactics such as doxing (where personal information of someone is posted online with the goal of causing them harm), a YouTube user can add their personal information to the list of words and phrases that are not allowed to be posted. This can include part or all of phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, or usernames of other accounts. Proactively being able to block someone from posting your personal content in this space will be a great tool.

Everyone has the right to express themselves safely online, and survivors should be able to fully participate in online spaces. Connecting with family and friends online helps protect against the isolation that many survivors experience. These new tools can help to protect survivors’ voices online.

Recognizing and Combating Technology-Facilitated Abuse

In addition to Domestic Violence Awareness Month, October is also recognized as National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Online Harassment is Abuse

One misconception about technology-facilitated abuse is that online harassment is not “real” abuse, that the harassment or threats they receive online may not be credible or as scary. Yet, not only can online threats be extremely terrifying, but much of this abuse is often tied to offline behaviors, including stalking and assault. Victims’ experiences are often minimized as they are told to just “get offline,” “change their number,” or “log off.” When so many of us live and work online, disconnecting is not a sustainable solution. We instead focus on educating survivors on helpful safety planning strategies, including creating strong passwords, locking down their accounts, and documenting instances of abuse and harassment. However, for there to be true cyber security for victims of violence, we must work to stop the abusive and harmful behaviors and tactics that are often perpetrated online.

Technology-facilitated abuse is a serious issue that does not always remain online and could possibly escalate to other forms of violence. [1] The presence of technology in our lives today is also vastly different than 50 years ago. How we look for employment, stay connected to friends and family, or even use transportation all requires some interaction with technology. Studies show that 74 percent of adults who are online use a social networking site [2] and 81 percent of adult cell phone owners send and receive text messages. [3] Technology can give victims access to important resources and services and allow them to stay connected to their loved ones and other support systems. While safety planning provides important steps to give control back to survivors, creating safe online environments should also be a priority of advocates, service providers, technologists, and law enforcement.

In a survey conducted by NNEDV, 97 percent of domestic violence programs reported that abusers use technology to stalk, harass, and control victims. Nearly 80 percent of programs reported that abusers monitor survivors’ social media accounts and 86 percent reported that victims are harassed through social media. [4] One in four stalking victims report cyber stalking, which includes receiving unwanted emails, text messaging, and social media surveillance and/or harassment. [5] All of these behaviors - harassing, monitoring, and unwanted calls and text messages, creates a pattern of stalking and abusive tactics that aims to control the victim and to further instill fear. [6]

Technology is Not the Problem

It’s important to recognize that technology is not the enemy. Asking a survivor to log off, press delete, or not use social media, will not stop the abuse from happening. If we really want to increase cyber security, we must hold bad actors accountable for their actions. This means that we must address the sharing of nonconsensual personal images, take threats and harassment seriously, and call out rape culture that is tweeted, texted, or shared.

While there are some limitations to monitoring technology-facilitated abuse and proving who is behind abuse, [4] there has been tremendous effort in creating policies around privacy, victim confidentiality, and technology safety.

NNEDV’s Safety Net project is dedicated to looking at the intersection of technology and intimate partner violence, and addresses how technology impacts the safety, privacy, accessibility, and civil rights of victims. In addition to training, education and advocacy, the Safety Net project offers a host of resources and tip sheets for survivors and agencies working with survivors.

Get Involved

• Visit techsafety.org to learn more about technology, privacy, and safety as it relates to survivors of abuse and the programs that serve them.

• This month, we are challenging widely-held perceptions about domestic violence using the hashtag #31n31 – and this week we are focusing on technology safety-related misconceptions. (See the entire campaign on Pinterest.)

• Learn more about Cyber Security Awareness month and other ways you can be involved at Stay Safe Online.

---

[1] Matthew J. Breiding et al., (2014). Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence, Stalking, and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization – National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 63(8). http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6308.pdf

[2] Social Media Use Over Time: Pew Research Center http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/social-media/social-media-use-all-users/

[3] Cell Phone Activities: Pew Research Center http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/mobile/cell-phone-activities/

[4] A Glimpse From the Field: How Abusers Are Misusing Technology (2014)https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51dc541ce4b03ebab8c5c88c/t/54e3d1b6e4b08500fcb455a0/1424216502058/NNEDV_Glimpse+From+the+Field+-+2014.pdf

[5] Katrina Baum et al., (2009) “Stalking Victimization in the United States,” (Washington, DC:BJS, 2009) https://victimsofcrime.org/docs/src/baum-k-catalano-s-rand-m-rose-k-2009.pdf?sfvrsn=0

[6] Fraser, C., Olsen, E., Lee, K., Southworth, C., & Tucker, S. (2010). The new age of stalking: Technological implications for stalking. Juvenile & Family Court Journal, 61(4), 39-55. 

Voting Safely

With the presidential election looming just around the corner, there seems to be reminders everywhere to “make sure you’re registered to vote” – in various news outlets, in social media, and even on signs in coffee shops. What you don’t hear that much about are the potential privacy risks associated with being registered to vote. We believe that the election process is a fundamental right that everyone should have access to; and we also believe that people need to make informed choices to balance their privacy and safety.

Unfortunately, registering to vote can raise privacy and safety risks for some survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking. For many, privacy and safety are intricately connected. Every state treats their voter information differently; however, the personal information of registered voters is often accessible in a number of ways. For example, many states allow people to check their voter status online, which can display their current home address. A list of state-specific links to check your voter status can be accessed here. Survivors who are registered can check this not just to ensure they are registered correctly, but to also see what someone else could learn about them if they know some of their basic information already. Please note: you don’t need to fill out any information on this site – just scroll past that section and you’ll see the list of states and where you can check your voter status.

Other states allow candidates for public office, researchers, or other groups to purchase voter records with very little regulation on what information may be included. Some states have Address Confidentiality Programs (ACPs) for survivors of violence that include protections to voter registration information; however, these programs are not a solution for everyone. Some ACPs are not able to protect voter record information and many have strict eligibility requirements.

This complex web of privacy risks and protections makes navigating the voter registration process a challenge for those who are concerned about their personal privacy for safety reasons. Survivors should understand how their personal information is handled when they register to vote and how it could be accessed by others, so they can assess their risk and make an informed decision. Additionally, we need to work to create more privacy protection options so that everyone who wants to vote can do so safely.

NNEDV just created a new resource, Voter Registration & Privacy which dives into these issues even more. Check that out, learn more about how your personal information can be accessible, and, if it’s safe for you to do so, get out and vote this November!