The Justice Minister, the Hon Judith Collins is sick of cyber bullies. On Friday she announced that she had asked the Law Commission to fast track its recommendations for reducing the harm of cyberbullying. In her press release, the Minister refers to the “devastating effects”  and reducing the “potential for harm”. The work to which the Minister is referring is the Law Commission review [...]

Lee and I responded to questions about cyberbullying as part of the NZ Herald‘s week long focus on bullying. The live chat session lasted an hour and we responded to about 30 questions. It was an interesting experience for us both as we attempted to quickly answer  broad questions about the wider issue and provide [...]

I’m speaking at a meeting of technology people and I’m busy explaining the risks associated with some technology ( I don’t remember which one), and one of the meeting attendees doesn’t agree. He interrupts. Firstly, he says I have no evidence. In response, I give him the facts as best we know them. Then he counters [...]

I was driving (read “barely moving”) in Auckland’s morning traffic and one of the radio stations ran a piece about what ANZAC Day means to New Zealanders.  Because this was a commercial music station, they opted for a series of vox pops cleverly edited together for humorous effect. It wasn’t very funny, but it did get me thinking about [...]

Back when I was a kid, there were a number of media reports about the influence of American culture on New Zealand youngsters. I really didn’t know what they were talking about. Sure, I was singing along to “We’re the kids in America” and I knew I wasn’t actually American but generally, you aren’t conscious of the creeping [...]

If I crash my mountain bike and get hurt, the basic cause (crash) and effect (hurt) relationship is pretty obvious. But what if I told you that it was Sean’s fault that I fell off in the first place? What if I told you that my crash was a direct result of trying to beat [...]

At a recent meeting reviewing the guidelines for media reporting suicide, the challenge of new media was repeatedly raised. Early research into the effect of social media indicates that it does have some contagion (copycat) effect. Despite the growing influence of social media, many suicide prevention experts resist any relaxing of the rules that govern [...]

Microsoft announces that they are making the PhotoDNA technology available to law enforcement at no cost. This technology will help in the fight against online child exploitation – and helps us understand how Microsoft views good corporate digital citizenship.

Privacy online remains a key concern for many internet users. Here are some top tips and new tools to try using to manage your online profile

A special guest blog from Jon Duffy, Head of Trust and Safety at Trade Me and NetSafe Board Member. Trade Me is a great place to find deals on all sorts of odds and ends. I myself recently found a genuine 1980s red and white cricket vest for a staggeringly low $12.00. I am now [...]