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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 FEBRUARY 2022 Missing the target on cyberbullying law Editorial AN anti-cyberbullying law tabled by justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis is cleared for second-reading stage in Parliament: paving the way for its possible enactment in the coming months. On paper, this should be welcome news. Recent events have dramatically underscored the extent of the problem that is cyberbullying: mostly in schools, but elsewhere too. Nonetheless, this is an issue that should be treat- ed with caution by our legislators. In its current form, the law defines 'cyberbullying' as any acts that are deemed "abusive or offensive" to a person, of which are "abusive or offensive towards the person" through electronic of digital devices. This is however imprecise; and the absence of a de- tailed, well-researched definition for cyberbullying can be a cause of concern in itself. The European Parliamentary Research Service, for example, provides a wide range of aggressions that can form part of cyberbullying, specified in part as being "usually repetitively and mostly via social me- dia". Rather than 'offence' – a catch-all term that can be invoked by anyone who dislikes what is said about them – the EPRS points out insults, threats and in- timidation, gossip, exclusion, stalking or identity theft, as key ingredients for victimisation. Crucially, Facebook and other social media web- sites are often used for "anonymous" cyberbullying through private group chats where victims, often children, are unaware of its existence. As the Amer- ican government's stopbullying.gov website illus- trates, private set-ups, when eventually discovered, bring the full weight of paranoia, embarrassment, and feelings of isolation on the victim. But by bringing 'offence' into a mix of criminal on- line behaviours, the scene could be set for a new law that allows victims to claim they have been "offend- ed" repeatedly on internet – perhaps by memes or repeated public criticism – in a way that they claim causes them psychological harm. Already, this can be seen to potentially undermine the purpose, and spirit, of the new law. It is unclear, as yet, whether the law would punish the implied 'right to offend' that comes with freedom of expres- sion: historically enshrined in the Handyside case, where the European Court of Human Rights held that the right to freedom of expression also protects expressions that 'offend, shock or disturb'. This is a consideration should have been raised during last Wednesday's debate in the House. In- stead, however, we were treated to a clear-cut ex- ample of how MPs disagree over who gets to be ac- cused of 'online hate' or 'trolling'. Nationalist MP Therese Commodini Cachia for example told MPs how a defunct blog – Tasteyourownmedicine.com – was specifically set up to attack the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, back before Labour had been elected. At the time, Caruana Galizia's blog had yet to become the an- ti-corruption powerhouse it became with the Pana- ma Papers and the Electrogas emails leak. Critics – or 'trolls' – taken aback by Caruana Gal- izia's delight in lampooning the ineptitudes of La- bour candidates or their working-class flag-wavers, responded with a blog that carried tidbits about her own private life. In such a zero-sum game, reason and argument are the first to fly out of the window – for both sides. And what solution is there for private persons who are turned into social media fodder for mirth and ridicule, but who might lack the forcefulness or so- phistication needed to respond? How does one get to have their say when the mockery is wilful or unin- vited? A cyberbullying law must be careful to clearly differentiate between such kind of victimisations, and situations in which public persons with lower expectations of privacy must endure with appropri- ate responses. It cannot cast not too wide a net to capture situations of 'offence' generated from on- line memes or discussion fora – social media, unlike newspapers, operate at a frequency where gossip and shaming tend to walk hand in hand with force- ful political views; that's a risk any public person should take in their stride. While social media 'haters' get to be just that – haters, left alone to their devices – a cyberbullying law must seek to protect real victims of bullying. If it opens itself up to the possibility of further abuse, by clamping down on freedom of expression and allowing those who claim to be offended online, to say they are 'cyberbullied', that would be the re- verse of the decriminalisation of libel that happened under the Media and Defamation Act. 12 February 2012 Hundreds protest against ACTA in Valletta A sizeable crowd turns up for the anti-AC- TA protest held Saturday morning in Vallet- ta. Protesters wearing Anonymous masks and carrying anti-ACTA placards voiced their op- position to the controversial treaty, which the Maltese government signed together with 21 other EU countries, and urged government to reject it. The protesters started the march from the Triton Fountain at the bus terminus and proceeded to St George's Square, where speeches were held by spokespersons of the various organisations present. Some of the demonstrators wore Anony- mous masks as worn by hackers around the world and since then adopted by the an- ti-ACTA movement. The anti-ACTA movement is urging the Maltese parliament not to ratify the act and also called on the European Parliament to reject it. All speakers who addressed the sizeable crowd agreed that the act lacks transparency and was drawn up by big corporations be- hind closed doors. Ingram Bondin, from the Front Against Censorship said ACTA was collapsing as "more and more people are voicing their opposition around Europe". He said that Germany is delaying the decision and other countries amongst the original signatories are backtracking. "The treaty seems to be dying thanks to people power." Organisers of the protest expressed their satisfaction at the turnout. They estimated the crowd at between 400 and 500 persons. The protest, organised by the Malta An- ti-ACTA Group was attended by a number of organisations, including the Malta Linux User Group, Moviment Graffitti, Front Kontra ċ-Ċensura, Kunsill Studenti Junior College, Malta Alliance for Freedom, Malta Humanist Association, ir-Realtà Collective, MOVE Progressive Students, Alternattiva Demokratika Żgħażagh, Forum Żgħażagħ Laburisti and Pulse. The protest was also attended by a number of Labour MPs and Alternattiva Demokratika officials. Quote of the Week "The search on my home was the straw that broke the camel's back. I realised that being at the fringes was being interpreted as me hiding away, which was not the case." Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on a police search on his house connected to a magisterial inquiry into the Vitals Global Healthcare concession MaltaToday 10 years ago