FCC To Address Cyberbullying At Schools With Government-Subsidized Internet

In recent years, school bullying has increasingly gone online with more students using social media websites and other Internet tools to harass fellow students.

This surge of cyberbullying frequently targets gay youth, upping rates of teen suicide across the nation.

Now, Reuters reports the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is planning to intervene to reduce cyberbullying at American schools.

According to Reuters,

The Federal Communications Commission said it will soon issue an order to schools receiving funds from the E-rate program, which subsidizes school Internet access, to address cyberbullying and improper use of sites like Facebook and MySpace.

The FCC says that the majority of public schools have their Internet subsidized by the federal E-rate program. Schools using this funding will now be required to include Internet safety education in curriculum.

Comments

[generix]

12:21 PM on 11/02/2010

Kids should be taught from the time they start school about plain old-fashioned upfront bullying w/c could extend into cyberbullying when they learn to use the Internet. It all starts w/ simple teasing & heckling & gossiping but it is very emotionally distressing to the kid who's continually teased & bullied. Good old-fashioned words of wisdom like "Be kind to one another," "Making fun of others is not good" should be taught to kids everyday by teachers. Reminder signs should be posted on classrooms & hallways. The bully, not the bullied one, should be made to feel like the outcast. Parents, don't be so sure as to say NOT MY KID! either as a bully or the bullied one. You might just be very surprised or shocked if you have full access to their e-mails, photos, Facebook or MySpace.

[Howard53545]

05:46 AM on 11/02/2010

Now this is going too far with the bullying mess. One way to cure cyber bullying and its called unplugging the computer or turning off the cell phone. Tryng readng a book! I got eye bullied yesterday. A lady gave me the stare down.

[Rick Crawford]

10:56 AM on 11/01/2010

I am sure the FCC can do a lot of restricting. They control some of the content that kids are exposed to. And they should try to do everything within their power to stop cyberbullying. But they can't control people. It is impossible for the FCC to control what kids say and do. Their efforts would be better spent in supporting programs that encourage kids to make better choices. My son is in a class where they use Project Cornerstone. He did a skit on cyberbullying. This goes further toward stopping bullying in my opinion.

[WhatchaTalkinBoutWillis]

02:38 AM on 11/01/2010

Cyberbullying and bullying is an omnipresent and serious issue in today's school systems. It should not be equated as a 'rite of passage' as described by some. To believe that the panacea for bullying entails simply ignoring the bully(ies), censoring your child's FB/myspace activities, or not allowing your teen to access his/her email, is not only to be simplistic in your thinking but also ignores the crux of why bullying is truly problematic. Bullying nowadays has taken the form of harrassment. The psychological impact of which can be devastating, not only shortterm, but longterm as well.

Parents are the first to exclaim, "oh no, not MY CHILD!", when their child is accused of commiting a heinous act! However, the key to ridding schools of bullying begins at home! Harrassment should never be tolerated!

[MTLAUREL]

04:11 PM on 10/31/2010

Cyber and real bullying are intertwined.If the schools and parents can't do anything about this then some bigger organization must do something. It is ruining our kids...even the ones not involved are distracted by it. No wonder the kids are doing poorly in subjects. Why can't the parents step up to this responsibility? Have a schoolwide day with parents teachers and kids all in breakout sessions about this. If some parents can't because of a job-well okay because there are plenty of parents who will attend and surrogate all the kids on the day, I bet.

[Paul Russell]

02:51 PM on 10/31/2010

Cyber-bullying is so rampant at schools near me that most have teachers giving posts/messages to the principal in hopes of getting some action done

It is ridiculous that students can get away with TERRIBLE things to other students

[MarcEdward]

02:58 PM on 10/30/2010

Cyberbullying?
Man I don't want to be mean, but REAL bullying is worse than Cyber-bullying.
I can choose to NOT go on facebook or NOT open an email, I didn't have a choice to NOT go to school and occasionally get tossed down a flight of stairs.
One of my kids talked to me about cyberbullying once, and I showed him how you IGNORE idiots. It's really not that tough.

[thimble]

10:05 AM on 10/30/2010

It is a tragedy that many people are cowards who derive pleasure in bullying and cyberbullying others. Second of all what the FCC is doing is unforunately necessary. I am not trying to be rude but part of the problem is we all spend way too much time on the computer instead of learning how to treat others. In terms of censorship that is a copout answer to try and justify rudeness and attacks on others. A private citizen has the right to live their life the best they can without being bullied or cyberbullied. It is not your place to go and post something about another person. If you dislike your neighbor, you are entitled to your opinion, but if you choose to post their name on the internet and then invite others to comment about this person simply because you don't like them, you don't have that right because you are trying to cause problems. If you have concerns about them try doing a criminal background check. If you hear a rumor about someone committing a crime for example, that is the police's job to discover the facts. If you choose to go online and post on a forum or in a social network something mean towards another person trying to upset them or cause them trouble, you are a cyberbullying. It is that simple.

In terms of school, kids are there to learn and should not be able to access any social network to begin with.

[JStading]

04:06 AM on 10/30/2010

Read: the FCC is exploiting a few recent suicides to radically expand its censorship power to include all of America's publicly funded schools.

[MarcEdward]

03:01 PM on 10/30/2010

Here's an idea - don't get your kid a cell phone, don't let your kid use facebook. My kids play games online, and they sometimes meet jerks, so they learn who to ignore. This is something the government doesn't need to get into, but I guess they want to "look busy" to justify their existence.

[BenK1976]

09:35 PM on 10/29/2010

curious, I wonder what this actually means. it could mean guidelines, or it could me site filtering (which is already done both at public and private institutions) or it could mean education or ... this is very thin on information except that the FCC is interested in decreasing cyber bullying which is an admirable goal.

so, we don't know yet but I would stop short of making any assumptions

I'm sure the paranoid conservative crowd will cling to any excuse to claim government is trying to control their lives ...silly reactionaries, always complaining

[hey0there]

07:18 PM on 10/29/2010

this is outrageous

[WhatDaBleep]

06:52 PM on 10/29/2010

Hey, this is a great reason for the FCC to monitor all kids emails, texts and other electronic media - to keep them 'Safe'!

[xamfra]

05:51 PM on 10/29/2010

They need to address the hate mongering on FOX news as well. I won't shed any first amendment tears over government forcing a bunch of middle aged anchors to consider the consequences of their speech to an audience that is proving it can't handle the hyperbole.

[johnb123]

05:51 PM on 10/29/2010

The problem is who gets to decide what bullying is? One group will take control and anything they don't agree with will be termed bullying.

[StopThePlanet]

05:53 PM on 10/29/2010

Luckily it won't be you.

[BrassOnes]

06:45 PM on 10/29/2010

Why post a comment like that? UNFAN

[BenK1976]

09:38 PM on 10/29/2010

there's a pretty common consensus of what bullying is, I'm sure they will protect against bullying of Christians too so don't get too worked up. Bullying is defined by behavior not beliefs or ideas or concepts etc.

[Dontbeabully]

05:10 PM on 10/29/2010

While I don't think most of us want too much government in our lives, we elect people to protect citizens. If the government doesn't do something about cyberbullying with new laws and internet reform who will. They have an absolute responsibility in this and need to actually do more. Senator Sanchez wants strong cyberbullying laws to treat it like the crime it is and we need that. There also needs to be laws passed where companies can be held liable if they allow cyberbullying and do nothing about it. Facebook and others need to improve but they do have some measures. On the other hand a company like Topix doesn't require registration and they don't moderate their vast amount of forums. That is an example where the government should be able to go on and demand some protection for people being cyberbullied and if the company doesn't comply, fine them or even shut them down. The government is needed in this situation. If anything they still aren't doing enough.