Cyberbullying raises its nasty head in Cyprus

IN THE good old days, if you had a grievance with a neighbour or work colleague you might go down the pub and moan to your mates. After a few pints, you might have plucked up the courage to phone him and say what you thought. In extreme circumstances, you might have even just gone over to his home and punched him on the nose.
How things have changed. For growing numbers of people with a gripe, the internet has become the ultimate revenge weapon. And in Paphos, in particular, the weapon is being used to devastating effect.
Some locally based online discussion forums have become little more than a global garden fence, over which gossip – often nothing more than unfettered and unsubstantiated bile – is being passed on to thousands with just one click of the mouse.
What should be used for simple social interaction is becoming slowly but surely amoral, with anonymous bloggers who seem to think they can be misogynistic, racist, anti-Jewish or just plain abusive online with little or no consequence. The result is a ‘cyber-swamp’, where the slithery can join the ignorant and the deeply disturbed and have a voice, but it’s a dangerously anonymous one.
Paphos now has several very busy online chat forums. Each offers a range of services and some sound advice aimed primarily at resident expats, British holidaymakers and those considering coming to Cyprus to work or retire. On the surface, these sites provide a valid social service as they list the how to, where to, and when to of living in Cyprus.
Yet recently, these sites have been increasingly devolving into a platform for taking random libellous swipes at companies, individuals and, in one recent case, a well-known charity. One of the latter’s members was accused of misappropriating donated money to fund a gambling habit. The charity and the chairperson were named, along with dire and damning criticisms regarding the manner in which they carried out their charitable works.
The person who posted the comments did so under the apparent cloak of anonymity, allowing him carte blanche to say whatever he wanted with absolutely no proof to substantiate his allegations. The post was duly responded to in typical ‘mob’ manner with not one of the responders ever closely demanding or questioning the veracity of the libel.
The charity immediately requested the offending post be removed. It took days to do so.
The law states that although regarded as conduits rather than publishers, the owners of the site will indeed be liable for legal action if they do not remove the material of which they have ‘actual knowledge’.
However, the demanded apology was never given for the actual libellous content of the postings, and untold damage was done to the charity. They were fielding calls from people who in their ignorance actually believed the posts. Many withdrew much-needed assistance both as volunteers, sponsors and as donors. All this in spite of the fact that copies of the charity’s accounts (as with all registered charities) could have been acquired at any time from their offices, as by law they are obliged to have these audited every six months and are in the public domain. The charity in question has since accepted an offer from a lawyer to proceed with a case for libel against the perpetrators.
The right to freedom of speech has always been tempered by such core elements as the law of libel, copyright, and the rights to reputation and confidentiality. On the internet, people tend to confuse the freedom to have the unfettered right to say what they like, and the responsibility for saying it. Blogging is not about having a free rein to spit bile or get your own back. Yes we are free to speak, but we must also have the responsibility for what we do say.
A good example of this happened last week when a woman in Paphos decided she would vent her anger on her ex-employer by circulating via Facebook an appeal for everyone in the Paphos area to submit a list of companies with names and addresses of those displaying shoddy workmanship, rudeness, rip-offs, etc.
In her tirade, she named specific people she wanted to target, including her former employer. This was a particularly nasty and bitter piece of writing littered with spelling mistakes and expletives, and was circulated using the email address of her current employer.
Naturally her current employer spat out several kilos of nails at having been so innocently embroiled in this woman’s personal vendetta and has since taken action against her. The woman is now being sued for libel by her ex-employer. What she also hadn’t reckoned on, though, was the higher level of intelligence displayed by many she had forwarded her rant onto. They sensibly found her concept of naming and shaming not only extremely dangerous, but also illegal and duly rounded on her.
Legally, the internet is no different to any other place of publication. Whether you are the owner of a site, or the editor of a national newspaper the old rules still apply. If someone points out an incorrect detail, you correct it. The difference between blogs and newspapers, however, is the ‘gatekeeper’. In newspapers the gatekeeper is the editor, who should be fully aware at all times of distinguishing between free speech and downright libellous statements. No such gatekeeper is always in place on these sites, and neither do the owners understand that they can be held responsible for what gets posted.
Many of these sites will refuse to give out the information of their webmasters or moderators. All will try to protect the true identity of their bloggers and that’s why people feel so safe in making libellous and abusive comments. Yet the fact is no posting is ever truly anonymous as police, in partnership with a libel lawyer, are able to trace the internet protocol (IP) address of each computer used to post a message, which, in effect, acts as a form of digital fingerprint.
For many on the receiving end of libellous and vicious comments this legal protection, in force since Cyprus joined the EU, is worth considering.
Those spewing vitriol would do well to think twice, as they can end up losing their jobs, their reputations, and their homes. And here, in Cyprus, there are also criminal charges that can be brought, which means they could find themselves blogging once a week from the secure confines of the prison library.