1. Special Agent Betsy Bartko
Internet safety and cyberbullying: news, Resources and tips for providers
Special Agent Betsy Bartko

2. Back In My Day…

3. Back In My Day…

4. No one wanted to end up on the milk carton

5. This is the norm

6. Today's agenda How children use digital media Social networks
Children as victims of online predators
Cyberbullying
Cases and laws/statutes
Resources available

7. Know your devices
Don’t underestimate your children

8. Know your devices
Don’t underestimate your children

9. Know your devices
Don’t underestimate your children

10. Know your devices
Don’t underestimate your children

11. Know your devices
Don’t underestimate your children

12. Know your devices
Don’t underestimate your children

13. 75% of teens have cell phones
Internet access
Text messaging
Smartphone apps

14. Social networking sites, just try to keep up with them.

15. Some favorites

16. Reasons social networking is good!
Enhances communication, social connection, and technical skills
Provides a connection to others from diverse backgrounds
Sharing of artistic and musical endeavors
Growth of ideas from blogs, videos, gaming sites
Can foster individual identity and unique social skills
Access to online health information
O'Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). Clinical Report: The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. American Academy of Pediatrics:

17. But there are some risks
Cyberbullying
Clique-forming
Sexual experimentation
Sexting
Exposure to inappropriate content
Internet addiction
Sleep deprivation
O'Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). Clinical Report: The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. American Academy of Pediatrics:

18. Facebook “depression”
New phenomenon defined as depression that develops when preteens/teens spend a great deal of time on social sites, then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression
O'Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). Clinical Report: The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. American Academy of Pediatrics:

19. Teens today
1 in 7 youth online (ages 10 – 17) received a sexual solicitation or approach over the internet
1 in 3 youth were exposed to unwanted sexual material over the internet
1 in 11 youth were harassed over the internet
73% of children who have offline sexual encounters with offenders do so more than once
2006 NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN.

20. Children as victims of online predators

21. Do children know who they’re chatting with?

22. Do children know who they’re chatting with?

23. Do children know who they’re chatting with?
Probably not…

24. Things we tell children to stay safe
Anyone can be anyone online
Only talk to real people you know
Never post personal information
Do not post photos of yourself
Don’t arrange to meet up with people face to face
Think before you post or chat
Tell an adult if something makes you scared or sad

25. What they hear… Anyone can be anyone online
Only talk to real people you know
Never post personal information
Do not post photos of yourself
Don’t arrange to meet up with people face to face
Tell an adult if something makes you scared or sad

26. Children as victims of online predators
Curiosity: children are curious about sex.
Predators exploit this – act as “guides” about sex
Children crave attention
Predators offer flattery to coerce them into sexual acts
Rebellion
A child who is victimized while disobeying parental rules may be reluctant to admit it
Children respect adults
Less likely to disobey an adult
2011 NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN.

27. grooming Can be a long process a predator uses to gain a child’s trust
Lower a child’s inhibitions by gradually introducing explicit images and child sex abuse images
May lead to the child’s willingness to meet the person with whom he or she is chatting
Using his or her adult status to influence and control a child’s behavior
Betraying a child’s trust by manipulating his or her emotions and insecurities
Movie Resource: “Trust”

28. Actual undercover chat sessions

32. Convicted: guilty plea to a charge of using a computer to commit the crime of child sexual abusive commercial activity. He received a sentence of 16 months to 20 years in prison. He also had to register as a sex offender.

33. Julie’s story

34. Warning signs Becomes withdrawn from family and friends
They become angry when they can’t get to the internet
Inappropriate material found on their devices
Quickly turns of the monitor when an adult comes in the room
The child receives mail, money or gifts from unknown people
Unknown phone numbers on the phone bill
2011 NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN.

35. Anchorage sex offenders

36. Cyber Bullying
Cyberbullying is being cruel to others by sending or posting harmful material or engaging in other forms of social cruelty using the Internet or other digital technologies

37. Teens today
About one-third of online teens (ages 12-17) have been cyberbullied. Girls are more likely to be targeted.
2011 NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN.

38. Cyberbullying

39. Common forms of Cyberbullying
Flaming and Trolling – sending or posting hostile messages intended to “inflame” the emotions of others
Happy-Slapping – recording someone being harassed or bullied in a way that usually involves physical abuse, then posting the video online for public viewing
Identity Theft/Impersonation – stealing someone’s password and/or hijacking their online accounts to send or post incriminating or humiliating pictures, videos, or information
Photoshopping – doctoring digital images so that the main subject is placed in a compromising or embarrassing situation
Physical Threats – sending messages that involve threats to a person’s physical safety
Rumor Spreading – spreading gossip through , text messaging, or social networking sites

40. Happy-slapping

41. Photo-shopping

42. Sexting
Sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or images via cell phone, computer, or other digital devices.

43. Whoops…sexting as an adult
Former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner - NY

44. Megan Meier Committed suicide October 15, 2006
Dardenne Prairie, Missouri
Committed suicide October 15, 2006
MySpace and AOL Messenger
Bullies: Lori Drew, Ashley Grills, et al.
Megan and her friend had a falling out
Megan’s former friend’s mother (Drew) faked an account “Josh Evans”
Used the account to befriend Megan
Last message to Megan, “The world would be a better place without you”
Drew indicted/convicted under Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Convictions overturned – based upon MySpace’s terms of usage

45. Jamey Rodemeyer Committed suicide September 18, 2011
Amherst, New York
Committed suicide September 18, 2011
Formspring, YouTube, Twitter…
An openly gay student endured over a year of bullying
Jamey posted a video on the YouTube site “It gets better” telling his story
“I wouldn’t care if you died. No one would. So just do it  It would make everyone WAY more happier!
Before he died, he tweeted Lady Gaga, bye mother monster, thank you for all you have done, paws up forever”
After his death, his sister was verbally attacked “better off dead”
NO charges were filed

46. Jamey Rodemeyer Amherst, New York
The statute of limitations had expired.
Evidence was lacking that a reported offense was actually committed, or information was received second- or third-hand and the actual perpetrator could not be identified.
Neither Jamey nor his friends reported the bullying incidents to school administrators or his parents. The incidents were reported to police after Jamey died.
Forensic analysis of Jamey's computer showed no pattern of "an ongoing course of conduct" of online abuse by the classmates reputed to have been harassing him.
There is no prosecutable crime to which hate crime laws could be applied. Also, the motives behind the gay slurs used by kids to antagonize and harass Jamey were not clear-cut

47. Hope Witsell Ruskin, Florida Committed suicide September 12, 2009
Sexting
Spring 2009, she took a picture of her breasts with her cell phone and sent it to her boyfriend
It was forwarded to students in six schools almost immediately
Parents were notified
Hope became a target of cyberbullying: people called her slut, skank, whore
Bullies posted about her on MySpace pages “Shields Middle School Burn Book" and started a "Hope Hater Page"

48. Phoebe Prince South Hadley, Mass. Committed suicide January 14, 2010
Moved to the U.S. in the fall of 2009
Cyber-bullied by 9 teens
Was accused of “taking away” another girl’s boyfriend
Repeatedly threatened to beat her up, called her “b*tch, Irish slut, whore”
Defendants posted derogatory Facebook comments after Phoebe’s death
Aggressive DA charges with Violations of Civil Rights, Bodily Injury and Statutory Rape
(2) defendants plead, (3) juveniles likely to plead, (1) facing rape charge

49. Tyler Clementi Rutgers University
18 year-old jumped from the GW bridge on September 22, 2010
His roommate, Dharun Ravi and friend Molly Wei placed a hidden web cam in their room
They live-streamed the video of Clementi and another man during a sexual encounter
Wei plead out and Ravi is facing invasion of privacy (sex crimes), bias intimidation (hate crimes), witness tampering, and evidence tampering

50. What are the consequences? (what we tell kids)
Your parents could be sued
Your parents could pay thousands of dollars in legal defense
Guilt, remorse
Sexting – under 18? Distribution of Child Pornography – a state and federal offense requiring registration as a sex offender
More and more prosecutors are becoming comfortable with the laws – more juveniles are getting charged

51. Digital Evidence in Cyberbullying
Cell phone forensics can find text messages, s, websites, photos
Cell phone toll records
Computer forensics
Subpoenas or search warrants can be sent to ISPs, Social Networking sites for access to your pages and history
Cyberbullying leaves a digital trail that is not hard to trace
Don’t not do it because you can get caught, but because it’s wrong to do

53. State laws
Alaska
House Bill 482 (2006): Sec Harassment, intimidation, and bullying policy. (a) By July 1, 2007, each school district shall adopt a policy that prohibits the harassment, intimidation, or bullying of any student. The policy must also include provisions for an appropriate punishment schedule up to and including expulsion and reporting of criminal activity to local law enforcement authorities.
: Passed the Legislature, to be transmitted to the Governor for signature.
Various statutes:
Does not have a Cyberbullying statute, but ALASKA STAT. § which is an anti-harassment statute defines harassment as including by electronic means which threatens the physical well-being of another person.

54. What can you do if your children (you) are targeted?
Tell your child not to respond to rude s, messages, and comments.
Save the evidence, such as and text messages, and take screenshots of comments and images. Also, take note of the date and time when the harassment occurs.
Contact your Internet service provider (ISP) or cell phone provider. Ask the website administrator or ISP to remove any Web page created to hurt your child.
If harassment is via  , social networking sites, IM, and chat rooms, instruct your child to “block” bullies or delete your child’s current account and open a new one.
If harassment is via text and phone messages, change the phone number and instruct your child to only share the new number with trustworthy people. Also, check out phone features that may allow the number to be blocked.
Get your child’s school involved. Learn the school’s policy on Cyberbullying and urge administrators to take a stance against all forms of bullying.
Make a report to  and if you feel something illegal has occurred, inform law enforcement.
2011 NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN.

55. Resources
missingkids.com or ncmec.org: The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Netsmartz.org
i-safe.org: protecting the online experiences of youth everywhere
wiredsafety.org: cyberbullying, cyberstalking, cyber abuse
cybertipline.com: report any crimes against children

56. THANK YOU Special Agent Betsy Bartko betsy.bartko@ic.fbi.gov