What can be done to fight online threats and bullying?
(Level: Upper-Intermediate / B2 to C1 / ***)


Hannah Smith is a 14-year-old British teenager who has recently hanged herself after being cyberbullied on Ask.fm.  (*) 

Subsequently to that tragic event, British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a boycott of such sites that allow cyberbullying and asked for website operators to show responsibility.

Also big companies have decided to pull their ads from Ask.fm because that is indeed where cyberbullied Hannah Smith was driven to suicide.

British Member of Parliament Barry Sheerman (**) is being interviewed by the CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout (***) and says he wants to take action against cyber threats and bullying; a problem that is on the rise, but how?
Watch the report to find out!



(*) For more details, watch 14-year-old girl killed herself after being cyberbullied posted on 12 August 2013. 

(**) Barry John Sheerman (born 17 August 1940): a British Labour Co-Operative (Labour Co-op) politician who has been a Member of Parliament since the 1979 general election.
Note: a Labour Co-op politician belongs to both the Labour Party and the Co-operative party (a small socialist party). 

(***) Kristie Lu Stout (born 7 December 1974) is a Chinese American journalist for CNN International. She hosts the daily news show News Stream which emphasises news being connected with technology.

 Before watching 


 

The following words, phrases and notes will be useful:

a cross-party commission:  a commission made up of members from several political parties  une commission parlementaire multipartite

an outbreak: a sudden increase   poussée / éruption

the silly season: usually the summer months when journalists fill space reporting on futile events      la saison creuse  

off-the-cuff: impromptu / with little or no preparation         au pied levé / à l’improviste

to chair: to preside over (as a chairman or chairwoman)     présider (une réunion / une commission...)

the Children’s Schools and Families select committee, now the Education Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons whose remit is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Education.

by knee jerk: as a knee jerk reaction, i.e. an immediate, emotional reaction due to an event or occurrence to which the person is highly sensitive...     réaction impulsive, irréfléchie

stalking: form of harassment or intimidation; obsessive attention by an individual or group of people toward another person     traque  /  (forme de) harcèlement (obsessionnel)

to flag somebody up to...: to signal .. to   signaler ... à...

a counsellor: someone who gives guidance or advice   conseiller

to prosecute: to  initiate legal proceedings against...     poursuivre... (en justice)

ghastly: inspiring shock, horror / terrifying         horrible 

to step up to the plate: to come forward and take responsibility       endosser sa part de responsabilité 

to mitigate: to make less strong or harsh   atténuer

brazen: bold / audacious            outrancier / effronté

ruthless:  merciless    brutal / impitoyble

to make (a decison e.g.) on the hoof: to make it quickly to react to an immediate situation, therefore to not have time to think about it carefully    prendre (une décision) à la légère

 

 While watching

Answer the following question in French!

What needs to be done, according to Barry Sheerman so as to tackle effectively the issue of cyberbullying?

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You can also find the video on the CNN website:


http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2013/08/09/exp-ns-sheerman-uk-cyberbullying.cnn#/video/bestoftv/2013/08/09/exp-ns-sheerman-uk-cyberbullying.cnn



http://newsstream.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/12/how-to-fight-online-bullies/



When you are finished, check your answers!

(Suggestions de réponses)
 - Mettre sur pied une commission multipartite de lutte contre le cyber-harcèlement, loin des clivages politiques afin de pouvoir légiférer efficacement contre ce type de criminalité.
(Note : exactement comme dans le cas de la commission constituée un an plus tôt pour lutter contre le phénomène de harcèlement obsessionnel; opération qui a porté ses fruits puisque quiconque commet ce type de délit peut être à présent lourdement sanctionné).

- Examiner les responsabilités qui incombent aux auteurs ou webmasters en charge de la gestion de sites tels Twitter, Ask.fm, notamment en les obligeant à supprimer le principe de l’anonymat (l'internaute  harceleur hésitera à envoyer ses messages abominables et outranciers s’il sait qu'il risque d’être démasqué) et en s'assurant de l’existence d’options sur ces sites comme le bouton d’alerte ou bouton rouge intégré qu’un jeune par exemple peut activer dès qu’il fait l’objet de brimades en ligne. Il pourra ainsi directement être redirigé vers un service qui lui  donnera les conseils utiles ou auprès duquel il pourra porter plainte …

-   S’assurer que ces cyber-harceleurs feront l'objet de poursuites pénales car le harcèlement peut entraîner de graves conséquences psychologiques et physiques.  

- Boycotter ces sites peut être envisagé mais il faut avant tout les obliger à se conformer à un certain nombre de règles.

- Mettre au point des règles à faire respecter … dans le monde entier.

- Mener une politique constructive ; prendre les décisions qui s’imposent et surtout pas à la légère ou de manière irréfléchie, d'où pour lui la nécessité de créer cette commission.

- ...