Technology abuse is skyrocketing | The information age

This is a staggering statistic – in the last five years in Victoria alone, incidents of technology-enabled violence have increased by 650 per cent.

In a recent interview with Channel Nine Today Victorian Deputy Commissioner Lauren Callaway said Victorian police responded to 94,000 calls related to domestic violence last year.

“We have seen and know that text messaging and lower-level technologies that facilitate abuse have increased by approximately 650 percent in five years.

“We have observed that it is very easy for perpetrators to sit in their bedroom or living room, surveilling and harassing people.

“It’s something they couldn’t do 10 to 15 years ago.”

Progress has led to rapid growth

E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant says technology-enabled abuse is growing rapidly, in line with technological advances and public uptake.

This ranges from coordinated sexual harassment campaigns on social media to manipulated sexual images and videos, also known as fake image abuse.

Inman Grant said one of the most insidious and harmful forms of technology-enabled harassment occurs in the context of domestic and family violence.

Perpetrators will hijack devices designed to connect and keep people safe in order to harass, stalk, intimidate and threaten.

Common abusive tactics include:

· No access to devices or online accounts, including bank accounts

· Continuous and unwanted text messages or calls

· Video recordings of intimate activities

· Threatening to share or share intimate photos or videos

· Sharing photos and videos that have been digitally altered for the purpose of humiliating and embarrassing

· Using security and surveillance devices to track a target without consent.

“This type of technological abuse is particularly harmful because it can effectively trap and isolate a target,” Inman Grant said.

eSafety runs a system for reporting cases of cyberbullying among adults under the Internet Safety Act.

“This allows Australians who are victims of serious harmful online abuse to have recourse when their ISP fails to act after reporting serious harm.”

In such situations, eSafety can take regulatory action against the platform or the perpetrator – a power that only exists in Australia.

“As a society, we must shift the focus from what individuals can do to stay safe online to what society must do to end abuse and hold perpetrators accountable,” Inman Grant said.

“This is especially true in the online industry.

“A greater burden of responsibility must fall on Big Tech to adopt a robust Safety by Design approach to root out misuse in the first place, with specific interventions to prevent gender-based abuse.”

Immersive technologies have the potential to unleash a new wave of harm that is much more emotional and hyper-realistic than the harm wrought in the past by Web 2.0.

“With the rapid spread and increasing sophistication of generative artificial intelligence technology, we have already received a small but growing number of disturbing, very realistic reports of abuse based on synthetic images (“deepfake porn”) from women,” Inman Grant said.

“There is no doubt that these reports are just the tip of the iceberg.”

Anyone who experiences serious abuse online, including threats of death or rape, doxing, or non-consensual sharing of intimate images (or deepfakes), should report it to eSafety.

Every second person experiences technical abuse

Dr Asher Flynn, principal investigator at the ARC Center of Excellence for Eliminating Violence Against Women and associate professor of criminology at Monash University, said digital technologies have made it easier for people to engage in aggressive behavior, particularly monitoring and stalking.

“There are many unintended consequences of digital tools that are not effectively considered in their design,” Dr. Flynn said.

“For example, shared Google calendars allow you to track where and when someone goes.”

Dr. Flynn conducted a nationally representative study entitled “The prevalence of abuse and victimization through technology in Australia.”

A total of 4,562 Australians took part in the study: 2,499 women and 2,063 men aged 18 and over.

They described a variety of ways in which they experienced or perpetrated violence, ranging from low-tech forms such as threatening text messages to more high-tech behaviors such as secretly installing malware spyware on a digital device.

The study found that there is a very high rate of technology-enabled abuse in the Australian population, with half of participants reporting that they had experienced at least one form of technology-enabled abuse in their lives.

A quarter admitted they had engaged in technology-enabled abuse.

Victims described having their online identities hacked through their social media profiles, emails and location services, and being monitored using apps and tracking devices.

Not surprisingly, the most common types of technology-enabled harassment experienced by victims were monitoring and controlling behavior (34%), including stalking and tracking the victim’s whereabouts, while another 27% reported experiencing harassing behavior such as offensive messages or emails.

Sending text messages containing harassment is against the law

Katrina Ironside, chief executive of the Women’s Legal Service (WLS) in New South Wales, said the use of technology to harass a partner or ex-partner is part of a continuum of domestic, family and sexual violence that aims to exert power and control over the victim and instill fear. .

“Harassment and stalking can lead to prosecution by the police and the AVO to protect the victim.

“Breaching an AVO could result in a conviction, fine or even a prison sentence.”

According to Ironside, the first step for victims is to get help with safety planning from specialist domestic, family and sexual violence services.

“This may include security planning around security at home, security measures when traveling to and from work, university or school, but also technical security which may include making sure there are no tracking devices in your phone, car or computer,” he says . he said.

Legal advice may be required

Victims can contact service providers such as Women’s Law Office for confidential, free legal advice on domestic violence, family law, harassment and report the matter to the police or other authorities.

“The victim needs an AVO and if they already have one, the perpetrator must be charged with breaching the AVO.

“They may also be charged with stalking and intimidation or other offenses and WLS can help by giving advice on such issues and reporting them to the police.”

Ironside adds that legislation has not kept up with the pace of technology development.

“WLS NSW is concerned about the ways in which technology is used to stalk, harass and intimidate women and children.

“We advocate for better safeguards and interventions to stop perpetrators misusing technology. “

Urgent reform

The Government of Albania has begun taking action to keep women safe online, including quadrupling current core funding for the eSafety Commissioner in last year’s budget.

In August this year, the government will also introduce legislation to ban the sharing of private information online with the intent to cause harm (doxxing) and review the Privacy Act to give all Australians, especially women who experience domestic and family violence, greater control over their personal data.

The government has also launched a review of the Internet Safety Act a year ahead of schedule to ensure the laws keep pace with emerging threats and harms online.

In May, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announced tough new bail laws for perpetrators of domestic violence and a $230 million government package to support women and families affected by domestic violence.

Protection against technology-enabled domestic violence

If you believe you are a victim of technology-enabled abuse such as stalking, bullying or revenge porn, report it to your local police.

The police provide the following tips:

· Turn off the location tracker on your mobile phone

· Put passwords on all your electronic devices and always sign in or out

· Increase your privacy settings on social media

· Check whether the details of your closest relatives are up to date and no longer concern your former partner

· You can install and run security software on your electronic devices to detect apps that track your movements and record personal information.

Importantly, do not remove anything until you have spoken to the police.

Take screenshots of any social media content as this information can be easily remotely deleted at any time.

Case study

Laviet Joaquin has spent most of her career working to improve digital security and privacy. Her work became personal after she was bullied, and the experience profoundly affected her sense of safety and privacy.

In 2019, I started receiving many unwanted and malicious emails and text messages every day. This went on for months.

The stalker even tried to hack into my social media accounts.

The constant invasion was extremely depressing and made me feel vulnerable and unsafe.

The stress was overwhelming. My sense of security was shattered.

I became hyper-vigilant, constantly checking my devices for signs of compromise.

This affected my work and personal life, making it difficult to concentrate and trust others online.

I didn’t go to the police, but I made changes to keep myself safe.

My work and understanding what I needed to do helped.

I feel sorry for the victims who don’t know what to do.

I worked with cybersecurity specialists, tightened privacy settings, and used top-rated security protocols that integrate with devices to protect you.

Anyone experiencing online bullying should know they are not alone and immediate action is needed.