TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Disturbingly, cyberbullying is within the domain of elementary school students in Taiwan, and while the Ministry of Education (MOE) has been active in the fight against bullying, it seems slow in actively tackling cyberbullying.
There is a false impression that cybersecurity is only the concern of governments, corporations, and the financial world. However, individuals are often victims of cyber hacks, especially involving identity theft and fraud.
In addition, children are often targets, according to Taiwan's Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF). CWLF’s November 2022 report indicates staggering rates of bullying in schools.
Most schools provide students and parents with an internet ID and password to allow them to submit assignments and access student information, including grades and important announcements. The pandemic increased the reliance of schools, teachers, students, and parents on internet communication, but a group of preteen elementary school students decided to cyber hack a fellow student.
The victim's ID was probably easy to guess and, unfortunately, it appears that one of the perpetrators was regarded as a friend and most likely observed the victim entering their new password on one occasion.
One of the perpetrators logged in as the victim and proceeded to send very inappropriate messages to fellow classmates. The victim was confronted by a classmate about the messages and then, luckily, for evidentiary purposes, screenshots were taken of the messages and chats.
The school was immediately informed but appears to have played it down as “kids will be kids”. The parents, suspecting such an attitude, immediately notified the MOE and filed a Bully Application Investigation Application (BAIA).
The parents also contacted the police but were advised that since the perpetrators were under the age of 12, the police cannot get involved unless an actual severe crime has been committed.
The parents filed the completed BAIA with the school and the school confirmed cyberbullying had occurred. Per MOE guidelines, the next step is to establish a committee to address the issue with the parties involved. MOE guidelines further require the school to nominate a neutral participant. The school, however, chose a retired teacher who had previously taught the victim and the perpetrators for several years, thereby rendering the neutrality aspect void.
In the end, the school’s committee merely decided to go with an anti-bullying workshop. The victim’s parents, in the absence of any reaction from the parents of the perpetrators, moved their child to another school.
Arguably, it was a weak response to a serious cyberbullying episode and the school did not follow appropriate protocol with the neutral participant for the committee. Such incidents are unlikely to be isolated, especially given the recent survey findings of CWLF. Concern also needs to be expressed as to the technical capability of preteens to engage in these activities and what future awaits them.
