KUALA LUMPUR – The recent death of a social media influencer and activist sparked outrage and debate among Malaysians, calling for more stringent regulation on cyberbullying and the use of social media platforms in particular.
Rajeswary Appahu, 30, fondly known as Esha, was found dead in her condominium a day after she lodged a police report, expressing her fears of being raped and killed.
Esha had said that she was “trolled” (mocked) and harassed on her social media platform TikTok.
Following her death, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil promised to discuss matters related to cyberbullying with Digital Minister Gobind Singh and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman. He had also promised to bring the matter to cabinet.
Cyberbullying is on the rise everywhere – a worldwide problem exacerbated by the popular use of social media and the internet.
The Global Digital Report 2024, produced by Meltwater and We Are Social found that 28.68 million people or 83.1% of the country’s population have a social media identity.
The report also found an extra 4.8 million user identities joined social media last year, an increase of 20% from the previous year – showing the growing popularity of social media among Malaysians.
Moreover, cyberbullying can happen to both adults and youths.
A United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) report in 2020 ranked Malaysia second in Asia for cyberbullying among youths, a serious concern that we can no longer afford to ignore.
University Kebangsaan Malaysia Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities’ associate professor in Criminology Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin said social media has become part of daily lives, especially after the pandemic as even school students depend on cyberspace.
“Before the emergence of social media, we would Google for information. Now, we are going to social media for the same information.
He said while there is the benefit of having information at our fingertips, the dark side of social media that must be acknowledged includes online grooming, scams, cyberbullying and the existence of sexual predators online.
“Criminal behaviour is dynamic and their behaviour is now integrated in cyberspace for their criminal acts.
“When we focus on minors and school students, this issue of cyberbullying is something that we have to worry about.
“For example, in the recent case of Esha, we can see that cyberbullying happens across demographics. It doesn’t differentiate and even professionals are being bullied on cyber platforms.
The criminologist said the acts of cyberbullying must stop and it is high time to come up with a single act to regulate social media.
“We know that the number of cyberbullies is more than we have seen. Many victims are even quitting social media but this is not the remedy to end this.
“A standalone act that regulates cyberbullying will instil fear in the perpetrators and govern the issue.
He said cyberbullies thrive because of the anonymity factor.
“The system is making it easy for them, such as the ease of opening a social media account with fake IDs or phone numbers. And this gives them the courage to engage in such activities because they remain anonymous.
“From the mindset of the bullies, cyberbullying is not as dangerous as physical or traditional bullying because they cannot see the immediate effect – like wounds when there is physical bullying.
“But in reality, cyberbullying’s effects will build up and lead to depression, which could further lead to people harming themselves. It is a very dangerous issue.
“We researchers believe cyberbullying has more negative repercussions compared to physical bullying, which usually happens within four walls, leaving the victims ‘safe’ when they are out of the space.
“But in the cyber world, bullying can happen anywhere and to anyone from anywhere. And the footprint or the evidence such as pictures will remain forever and affect the mental health of the victims.
“Banning TikTok is not an answer as another social media platform will then emerge. Instead, educating society must be taken up to reduce cyberbullying.
“For example the etiquette of using social media, the do’s and don’ts must be taught at a very young level. We should also look at integrating this into the school syllabus because we are worried that it will become a culture.”
Meanwhile, on online grooming, he said child predators and paedophiles are using social media as a catalogue to target potential victims.
He said neglected children often are the most vulnerable and easiest targets for these predators.
“A local study in 2000 found that a significant number of underaged students had received friend requests from unknown people who later engaged in sexual conversation with them.
“The predators will take time to build the connection and bond emotionally with the child before engaging in a sexual conversation. So, parents need to know what is happening in their child’s life and must equip themselves with knowledge of sexual grooming, and how predators approach their children.
He urged parents to be friends with their children on their social media platforms and monitor online activities. He said parents should also pay close attention to their recently added friends, those they follow, and their followers.
He said while the government had reminded parents to ensure their children under the age of 13 do not own any social media accounts, there are possibilities of them opening one without their parent’s knowledge, especially with peer pressure.
“Today’s parents must be equipped with cyber-parenting (and know) the do’s and don’ts to keeping our children safe.
“There are also programmes by government and agencies such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission teaching about cyber safety. Parents must expose their children to such programmes and awareness,” he said.
Currently, cybersecurity in the country is regulated by several legislations such as the Computer Crimes Act 1997, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Malaysian Penal Code and the Personal Data Protection Act 2010.
However, experts believe that a more comprehensive regulation is needed to address wider issues covering cyber security, cyberbullying and the use of social media platforms to ensure a safer online environment for all. – August 28, 2024