WE NEED TO TAKE ON INTERNET TROLLS - KENNY

Posted on October 20, 2014 4:26 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Internet users who engage in 'sinister' forms of trolling should face serious consequences in legislation, according to Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Communications and Justice Committees, Sean Kenny.

Deputy Kenny said: "I was very interested to read that the Justice Secretary in the UK is considering introducing heavy sentences of up to two years for internet trolling. I think Ireland should consider whether it is worth bringing in such a law. Internet trolling is a serious problem and can cause huge amounts of mental stress for those who experience it."

"Traditionally, trolling has meant the posting of inflammatory or off-topic messages on an internet forum as a 'wind up', in order to elicit a response from other users. I don't have an issue with this, and I believe it cannot and should not be policed."

"However, there is a darker, more sinister and unpleasant sort of trolling, and this is what I wish to see dealt with. Examples include sending an email threatening someone's children, or stealing someone's online identity and setting up accounts in their name on social networking sites in order to impersonate them."

"Another element of this sinister form of trolling that particularly concerns me is the way trolls attack women online, insulting them for airing opinions or for work that they do online, often saying the most horrifying of things, and threatening them with physical harm such as rape or other physical assault, even murder in some cases."

"The psychological trauma this kind of trolling and its role in suicide must also be considered. Indeed, the Oireachtas Communications Committee examined the issue of trolling in the wake of the tragic death of Minister Shane McEntee a couple of years ago."

"Trolls that engage in such behaviour are cowards. They think hiding behind a screen gives them the power to say and do things that they would not dare to say or do in public, because they know they would be stopped, identified and forced to account to the person they are targeting. Trolls know that the things they say and do are unacceptable in society, but they do them anyway."

"There are laws in place in Ireland that deal with malicious behaviour in the physical world, but they do not cater for internet harassment. I think it might be time to ensure that there are harsh consequences for the worst offences, which range from being deeply unpleasant, to outright cruelty."