The Digital Safety Landscape

As new technologies are developed and adopted, in addition to the positive benefits they may provide, they also augment the power of existing forms of abuse and exploitation. This augmentation results in the emergence and enhancement of a range of digital safety threats, including an expansion of potential consequences. The digital safety threats and subsequent consequences associated with cases of online abuse can be seen in Appendix 1 and 2, respectively. Digital safety threats, particularly the category of threats this report focuses on, disproportionately impact vulnerable communities and are often motivated by an animus towards an individual’s race, class, age, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. In addition, digital safety threats and attacks often vary based on geographical and community contexts. For example, the devices and platforms used to perpetrate attacks in a small, rural environment are often different than those used in a large, urban city.

This section provides an overview of the digital safety landscape of the three selected communities. Each discussion analyzes the types of threats each community faces and outlines some of the programs that exist to support them. This section also includes case studies which are based on real events that we learned about during the course of researching and producing this report. Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the identity of our interviewees.

Case Study: Azariah

Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the identity of our interviewees.

Azariah is 13 years old and attends a small, rural middle school. After many serious discussions with their doctors, Azariah recently took one of their first steps in the long process of transitioning to their preferred gender identity. Despite strong support from their family, Azariah was understandably nervous about how other classmates and people in the community might react to the transition. Unfortunately, their worst fears were realized just a few months after beginning puberty blockers.

On their way to school, Azariah received a text with a link to a social media group. The members of the group were other students in Azariah’s class, including supposed friends, who were making fun of Azariah for transitioning. There were transphobic slurs, pictures of Azariah photoshopped on other people’s bodies, and comments that vaguely alluded to hurting Azariah. The group had been active for weeks. Mortified, Azariah immediately went home and shared everything with their parents.

Around that time, Azariah’s phone began buzzing incessantly. A flood of hateful text messages from other students in Azariah’s class popped up one after another, causing Azariah to have a panic attack. Remembering the advice of Azariah’s doctors and therapists, Azariah’s parents immediately took Azariah to the hospital to make sure the episode wasn’t a side effect of the new medication. In fact, the medication was not the problem, concluded the doctor. It was strictly a result of the trauma that resulted from such an intense and coordinated bullying effort. Later that day, Azariah was released to go home but under the doctor’s instructions not to send Azariah back to school until the parents were sure that it would be a safe environment.

The [panic attack] was strictly a result of the trauma that resulted from such an intense and coordinated bullying effort.

At home the next few days, Azariah continued to be hounded by texts, posts, and even phone calls from tormentors. Even though Azariah’s parents shut off the internet and banned cell phones, the damage was done. Unbeknownst to Azariah’s parents, Azariah began harming themselves and considering suicide, an all-too-common response in teens who have been bullied in this way. The problem is especially pronounced for LGBTQ youth like Azariah.

Through all of this, Azariah’s parents continually sought recourse through the school system and local law enforcement. This required them to document all of the instances of hateful speech hurled at their child, an emotionally traumatizing experience on its own. Exacerbating this painful experience, they received little support from school and law enforcement officials. After first calling the school, they were redirected to the police who said that, since most of the students were underage, there was little action they could take. As Azariah’s parents continued searching for help, they discovered the school’s bullying policy. The terms clearly covered the situation, but Azariah’s parents still had to fight for the school to recognize what was happening by sending a lengthy letter with dozens of pages of evidence to support their claim. Only then did the school take steps to create the safe environment guaranteed under the bullying policy. At that point, still not fully convinced that Azariah would be safe back at school, Azariah’s father decided to switch to the night shift at work so that he could stay home and homeschool Azariah during the day.

The Digital Safety Landscape for Youth

Nearly a third of youth between the ages of 11 and 19 have been victims of online abuse.¹ New technologies augment existing forms of abuse and exploitation, leading to increased levels of sexual abuse and harassment, increased profitability for criminal enterprises, reduced risk of detection, increased harm to victims, and provision of social affirmation for offenders (See Appendix 1).² Moreover, new forms of abuse and exploitation are made possible through new technologies, including made-to-order child sexual abuse material and broadcasting of live sex abuse.³ For LGBTQ youth, digital safety threats, particularly those related to online abuse and harassment, are even more pronounced. Over half of LGBTQ youth have experienced online harassment (55.2 percent) compared to the 10-33 percent of youth overall who reported similar abuse.⁴ In addition, LGBTQ youth were four times more likely to report sexual harassment online (32 percent) than their non-LGBTQ peers (8 percent), with rural LGBTQ youth reporting substantially higher rates of online victimization than suburban or urban peers.⁵

Below are some examples of groups working to combat instances of online abuse and harassment against youth and provide digital security training, education, and support to youth in the United States and around the world. These organizations were selected based on their accessibility, public engagement with digital security, efforts to counter online abuse against youth, and recognition within communities working to support youth. However, this is in no way an exhaustive list.

• Cyberbullying Research Center: Contributes useful research on cyberbullying policy and legislative efforts.
• Netsafe: A non-profit organization based in New Zealand focused on internet safety and security through education, response, and advisory roles. Netsafe holds a statutory role under New Zealand’s Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, and receives funding from the New Zealand Ministries of Justice and Education.
• NetSmartz: Sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department, an educational program offering adaptable, free, downloadable training and education resources for children and parents on digital risks
• Stop Bullying.gov: A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative that provides information on cyberbullying prevention efforts, reporting mechanisms, and a repository of legal/statutory resources
• The Trevor Project: A U.S.-based organization focused on provision of crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth under the age of 25.

Nearly a third of youth between the ages of 11 and 19 have been victims of online abuse.

Case Study: Rabia

Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the identity of our interviewees.

Rabia is a young, aspiring journalist. She recently landed the editorial internship of her dreams and was over the moon about publishing her first independent article online. She wrote about a topic very near and dear to her heart—gender equality in the workplace. Shortly after the article was published and shared on social media, Rabia’s phone began blowing up. She proceeded to check her notifications and was shocked to find that she had become the target of a coordinated group of online trolls who berated her for her “silly feminist perspectives” and singled her out for her Middle Eastern heritage and her religion—Islam. By the end of the day, Rabia’s social media feeds and inboxes were overflowing with hateful content, including death threats. But, the abuse did not stop there.

Soon after, Rabia’s personal email account was hacked. She was locked out. If that weren’t enough, a troll set up a website dedicated to sharing violent and graphic photoshopped images of her. Rabia spent the entire day trying to mitigate these online attacks, and as a result she didn’t get any work done, much to the dismay of her supervisor. The next day, the trolls began distributing Rabia’s personal information—her home address, her parent’s home address, her cell phone number, and where she went to school—online. By the end of the day, the death threats against Rabia had expanded to include threats against her friends and family. At this point, she began to genuinely fear for the safety of herself and her loved ones.

By the end of the day, the death threats against Rabia had expanded to include threats against her friends and family.

After work, she went to the local police station to report the incident. The police officer who received her gave her a perplexed look when she explained she was concerned about her safety because a group of people online had sent her abusive messages. He advised that she ignore the trolls, as they were all grown men living in their mothers’ basements, and told her to forget about it. Rabia pushed back, but the officer pressed her on why she had encouraged the trolls by responding to them, making her feel as if she had brought this on herself. Dejected, Rabia returned home. The hateful and abusive online targeting did not stop, however, and before going to bed, Rabia decided to completely shut down her social media accounts. When she returned to work the next day, she shied away from taking on any potentially controversial writing assignments as she did not want to further exacerbate the situation.

The Digital Safety Landscape for Women

Rabia’s experience with online abuse is jarring. Unfortunately, she is not alone. According to a report by the United Nations Broadband Commission, three-fourths of women around the world have been exposed to some form of online abuse or harassment.⁶ In addition, despite advances in gender equality around the world, women are still 50 percent less likely to be internet users, regardless of the geographic region and income group they belong to.⁷ For many women, education and cost remain barriers to accessing and effectively navigating online spaces.⁸

The extensive list of digital safety threats women can face (see Appendix 1) often spark fear and mistrust among women and results in them leaving the digital sphere altogether. In addition, this hostile environment also poses significant threats to the freedom of speech and expression of female users. According to a World Wide Web Foundation report, women are 52 percent less likely than men to express controversial views online, fearing consequences.⁹ Rabia’s story demonstrates this chilling effect.

Below are some examples of groups working to combat instances of online abuse and harassment against women and provide digital security training, education, and support to women in the United States and around the world. These organizations were selected based on their accessibility, public engagement with digital security, efforts to counter online abuse against women, and recognition within communities working to support women. However, this is in no way an exhaustive list.

• Association of Progressive Communications (APC): APC is an international organization that operates the Take Back the Tech program, an initiative that combats violence against women (VAW) by providing female users with workshops on online safety, media monitoring on rape reporting, online and offline solidarity and support, among other things.
• Crash Override Network: A grassroots crisis helpline, advocacy group and resource center that offers free confidential support and advice on self-protection to those who are experiencing abuse online. The organization receives approximately 6,000 users every month and although it does not have an explicit focus on working with women, it is commonly used by female users.
• National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV): NNEDV operates a Safety Net project which engages communities, agencies and technology companies on the risks to safety, privacy and accessibility that technology poses to victims. Their work includes trainings for victims and victim advocates as well as for law enforcement.
• Public impact litigation firms such as C.A. Goldberg, PLLC, which fights for victims of sexual assault, blackmail and stalking, online and offline.
• TrollBusters: A “rescue service for women journalists, bloggers and publishers” that sends supportive images and messaging to a victim’s social media feed, thus creating counter-narratives and providing a protective layer. TrollBusters also documents and monitors attacks for victims so they do not have to watch the abuse unfold.

Case Study: Chris

Names and identifying details have been changed to protect the identity of our interviewees.

Chris is an activist who works primarily with communities of color. As the midterm elections approached, Chris took to the internet to encourage his network to vote and share his thoughts on pressing issues such as immigration, healthcare, and gun control, often quoting pivotal Civil Rights activists and political leaders. His posts, however, attracted the attention of a far-right hate group who began posting disparaging and racist comments on Chris’ profiles and threatening him based on his social and political opinions. In addition, the hate group responded to Chris’ posts by sharing false information regarding leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama, and linking to “cloaked sites” that were a repository of falsified and manipulated information. At first, Chris chose to ignore them. However, over the course of a couple of days, the hate group bombarded him with so much hateful and harmful content he couldn’t use his social media profiles without viewing their content. In addition, many members of Chris’ network had read the content shared by the hate group, and much to Chris’ dismay were being influenced by their false messaging. At this point, Chris decided he had had enough and engaged the trolls to try and get them to step down. However, in response, the hate group copied Chris’ information from his public profiles and set up alternative ones, effectively seeking to defame and impersonate him within his own community as well as externally.

The hate group soon after found out that Chris was organizing a rally supporting the rights of immigrants in the United States. On the day of the rally, Chris was shocked to find that the rally was stormed by members of a local SWAT team as a result of a false tip off by the trolls that there was imminent danger at the event.

The Digital Safety Landscape for Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Early thinking about race and ethnicity online suggested that the internet could reduce or eliminate racial and ethnic disparities that occurred offline.¹⁰ Since then, however, it has become clear that the internet and digital technologies more broadly have introduced new challenges and exacerbated old ones, both online and offline. Racial and ethnic minorities regularly face cases of online abuse such as impersonation and targeted attacks.

The rally was stormed by members of a local SWAT team as a result of a false tip off by the trolls that there was imminent danger at the event.

For example, Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors hate groups, found a sharp spike in the number of anti-Muslim photos, memes, and posts on social media following the 2016 U.S. election.¹¹ In a similar study, the Anti-Defamation League found that there were 2.6 million tweets containing anti-Semitic speech between August 2015 and July 2016.¹² These types of hateful content can often spark, or, as demonstrated in the example above, actively promote cases of online abuse and harassment. According to a Pew Research Center Study, one in four African Americans have faced discrimination online as a result of their race or ethnicity and 54 percent of African American internet users have witnessed severe forms of online abuse against others, including physical threats, stalking, sexual harassment, or sustained harassment. Both experiencing and witnessing such online abuse takes its toll. Those experiencing such abuse are often more likely to retreat from online spaces, self-censor or remain silent altogether. Similarly, 43 percent of African American internet users and 44 percent of Hispanics censored themselves on online platforms after witnessing abuse out of fear that something similar might happen to them.¹³

These forms of online abuse and discrimination based on a person’s racial and ethnic background also significantly impact youth of color. Studies have found that as minority youth become older and engage with the internet at a greater rate, they also experience higher levels of discrimination. Over 44 percent of minority youth in these studies have indicated experiencing online discrimination on a social networking site. These experiences are damaging to individuals of all ages. However, for young people, experiencing these types of vitriolic attacks are particularly damaging to mental health outcomes.¹⁴

Various policies, programs, and platforms exist that aim to better the digital safety landscape affecting racial and ethnic minorities. Given the sometimes tenuous relationship between communities of color and local law enforcement or government officials, grassroots activists of color are often the ones leading the development of new programs and platforms for bettering the digital safety environment while policy lags behind.

Below are some examples of groups working to combat instances of online abuse and harassment against racial and ethnic minorities and provide digital security training, education, and support to these communities in the United States and around the world. These organizations were selected based on their accessibility, public engagement with digital security, efforts to counter online abuse against racial and ethnic minorities, and recognition within communities working to support these communities. However, this is in no way an exhaustive list.

• Access Now: An organization focused on protecting human rights in the digital age through “direct technical support, comprehensive policy engagement, global advocacy, grassroots grantmaking, and convenings such as RightsCon.”
• Anti-Defamation League: An organization focused on halting the defamation of the Jewish people and securing justice and fair treatment for other communities including racial groups, women, immigrants and refugees and other religious groups.
• Cryptoparty: A decentralized, grassroots movement focused on sharing practical digital security advice to individuals regardless of skill level or background.
• Defend Our Movement: A web based clearinghouse of the most up-to-date and useful information about protecting your devices and data, including culturally relevant digital safety tips, tools, and support from movement security allies.
• Equality Labs: A South Asian organization focused on reducing racism and oppression, including through digital security trainings, community-based research, and rapid response support.
• Security in a Box: Provides tools and tactical guides for individuals and communities who face significant digital security threats.

During a preliminary research sprint, it was clear that other communities also face unique vulnerabilities and threats online. The LGBTQ community, for example, is extremely likely to face abuse and harassment online, including hate crimes that disproportionately affect that community more than any other minority group.¹⁵ In the United Kingdom, polling supported by the Stonewall charity found that one in 10 LGBTQ internet users there were targets of online abuse—a figure that increased to one in four for transgender individuals.¹⁶ In addition, elderly citizens are often highly vulnerable to cases of online abuse that result in compromised data and technology systems. This is because they often lack the digital literacy to spot phishing scams and other online threats, making them the single largest group of victims who suffered financial losses as a result of online crimes according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).¹⁷ In addition, a Home Instead Senior Care report found that two-thirds of U.S. senior citizens have been the victim or target of an online scam or hack.¹⁸ Further research should expand on the challenges these communities face and explore potentially useful strategies that other marginalized groups deploy.

The United States has a limited set of policies in place that serve to mitigate and potentially criminalize instances of digital abuse against vulnerable communities. The majority of these policies address cases as they relate to youth and women. However, they fail to effectively account for the intersectional nature of online abuse including cases that result in attacks on data and technology systems. The following is a non-exhaustive overview describing relevant policies and statutes in the United States:

• Every state in the United States has some form of anti-bullying legislation.
• All but two states (Alaska and Wisconsin) have legislation that deals specifically with cyberbullying or online harassment.
• Every state except Montana mandates that schools have a formal policy to “help with the identification of the [bullying] behavior and discuss the possible formal and/or informal disciplinary responses.”
• In all but five states (Alabama, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire), schools are able to discipline students in appropriate and measured ways in cases related to bullying.
• In federal law, the stalking statute (18 USC § 2261A) criminalizes instances of cyberstalking through the use of an “interactive computer service.”
• Almost every state has laws that address cyberstalking, cyberbullying, or both.
• Over 40 states have passed laws that criminalize the posting of nonconsensual intimate images (NCII).
• There is currently pending federal legislation, the Interstate Doxxing Prevention Act, which seeks to outlaw doxxing.

There are also several national, regional, and international instruments for combating technology-facilitated abuse and exploitation of vulnerable groups. These include:

• United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child
• United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
• Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime
• Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
• African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Currently, legislation in the United States only recognizes a handful of online abuse and harassment instances, including cyberbullying and stalking. As technology continues to develop and evolve, developing corresponding legislation that accounts for these technological changes is challenging. In addition, under the First Amendment there is a constitutional limit to the types of conduct that can be outlawed, and as a result any laws that attempted to criminalize certain forms of harmful conduct may simultaneously impinge on the free speech rights of users.

In addition, prosecuting cases of online abuse that are criminally prohibited by statute can be challenging because of a lack in resources that have been devoted to effectively training law enforcement agents to enforce these laws. When victims of such incidents approach law enforcement, they are typically underserved since the agents, despite usually having the will to help, lack the proper training to manage cases and effectively support victims. Several of our interviewees reported that because of this, many victims, especially youth and women, are often hesitant to come forward about instances of online abuse.

Greater commitment to enforcing existing laws, including providing sufficient training to law enforcement agents is vital. It is also critical that this training addresses the distinction between criminal conduct and protected free speech and free expression.

There is also a significant gap in terms of how society is educated on these issues. Over the past few years high schools and colleges across the United States have adopted more stringent trainings and engaging discussions on topics such as cyber bullying. However, these trainings and discussions have not yet filtered to middle and elementary schools and have also not adopted specific carve outs for discussions on topics such as sexual assault and the many manifestations of online abuse against vulnerable communities. In addition, current procedures for engaging with victims and perpetrators in early education environments are minimal, and as a result there is a dearth of both preventive and supportive services. At the university level, on the other hand, there are generally more prescriptive standards that a victim and perpetrator would be subject to in the event of an online or offline incident of abuse or harassment. However, these standards can lack sufficient enforcement.