If 2014 was the year
that finally coaxed the world to take note of online harassment as a serious
issue, the coming year will put the onus on governments, and companies like
Twitter, Facebook, Google to play a larger role in tackling online abuse.
27% of female internet
users have been sexually harassed online, according to an October (2014) report
by US-based think tank PEW research.
Anecdotal evidence
suggests that online harassment sexual or /
otherwise is no less alarming in India.
For instance, cartoonist
Kanika Mishra, who works under the pen name of Kanika Kahen, was a victim of
online harassment when she drew cartoons criticising god man Asaram Bapu over
his remarks on rape and women during the Delhi gang rape trial.
Besides being attacked
with sexist abuses, she received death threats on her page and her email
account was hacked.
For social media firms,
keeping online harassment in check, while still respecting freedom of speech,
will be one of the biggest challenges in 2105.
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