The popular children’s television network Nickelodeon is the latest voice to raise awareness of digital bullying.
Nick, the most-watched TV network among kids ages 2 to 14, will begin an on-air public service campaign Monday featuring some of its stars offering advice on what young people should do when confronted with hostile texts, emails or Facebook posts.
The advice offered in one ad featuring Ashley Argota of “True Jackson, VP” and Gage Golightly of “The Troop”: Sign off the computer; don’t reply to a hostile messenger; block bullies from access; make a copy of the message to show to an adult you trust.
“It’s not tattle-telling,” Golightly says. “It’s standing up for yourself.”
The issue has received national attention after the suicides of teenagers who were cyberbullying victims. President Barack Obama held a White House conference on bullying earlier this month. Nick is collaborating with the advocacy group Common Sense Media, which has also worked with MTV and the Disney Channel on spreading the word about the issue.
The hope is that the anti-bullying effort can become as pervasive and successful as campaigns calling for a designated driver who has not consumed alcohol when friends are out drinking, said James Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, which offers reviews and advice for parents.
Miranda Cosgrove and Nathan Kress of Nick’s “ICarly” are also participating in the campaign, which will last for two years, said Marva Smalls, Nick’s executive vice president for public affairs.
“We are happy that our talent agreed to be a part of it because that would make it resonate even more for kids,” Smalls said.
Half of young people ages 14-24 said they had been the victim of cyberbullying, according to a survey conducted in late 2009 for The Associated Press and MTV.
“We have to be laser-focused on finding solutions to the issue of cyberbullying,” Steyer said.
Nickelodeon is an important partner for its ability to reach kids as they’re just starting to use the Internet and cellphones, he said. Nick is also publicizing Common Sense’s “Rule of the Road” for online behavior, urging young users to guard their privacy and assume that everyone in the world can see whatever they are posting.
Nick will also host a discussion board and have information available on its web page devoted to parents who want to learn about the issue.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More