https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/ex...-how-to-turn-the-tables-on-an-online-harasser
It’s a task that sounds daunting: taking on your online troll.
But Christchurch politician Sara Templeton has proved that victims can take action – and online harassers can be unmasked, fined and, in some cases, criminally prosecuted.
Two members of the Young Nats resigned from the National Party on Thursday after the courts identified their home as the source of mysoginistic trolling of female politicians.
One of them, Jessee MacKenzie, admitted he was responsible for the online harassment. His flatmate and the owner of the IP address Bryce Beattie said he had no knowledge of the online abuse, but abandoned his bid to win a community board seat and resigned from the party anyway because “it felt like the right thing to do”.
Sean Lyons who runs the Online Safety Operations Centre at Netsafe said people had a right to privacy over their information online, but that did not extend to people who were causing harm or engaging in criminal activity.
So what to do if you are the victim of online abuse?
Firstly, take screenshots of all abuse, including date, time and URL.
Secondly, contact Netsafe. Lyons said Netsafe can help you report the abuse to the online platform or social media site. In the majority of cases, the content is removed once the platform is satisfied the content breaches its terms and conditions.
What if the online content is particularly serious, or involves direct real-life threats?
Complaints can be laid with police. The police will make a judgement on whether to lay charges, Lyons said.
What happens if the platform refuses to take it down or the trolls persist or set up new or multiple accounts?
“Sometimes it’s like whack-a-mole. If the harassment is continued and personal then it is much more difficult. The harassment might seem like it is coming from lots of different people and coming from all sides and it is really difficult for people to deal with,” he said.
Victims can take civil court action, alongside or instead of a police complaint, with the help of a report from Netsafe.
“There is no charge, no cost, you don’t need a lawyer. You have to come to us first and if we can’t resolve it we provide a summary that you can take to the district court,” he said.
“It doesn’t always involve standing up in court and facing your troll and pointing the finger. It can be done on papers but does require evidence of a digital communication, so screenshots are important,” he said.
The court can order the troll to take down the material, cease the conduct and apologise.
What happens if your harasser is an anonymous troll?
The court can order an online platform to take down the material and for them or an internet protocol address provider to release the identity of the troll to the court.
Lyons said the intent of the “unmasking” was to provide the court with the right person to make the order against, rather than to reveal their identity to the victims.
“It raises a problematic question for us. We are always concerned in this situation for the person who has harm and distress caused to them, but it is right for that person to go through the proper process and take the protections the district court can provide rather than take the law into their own hands,” he said.
What happens if the troll keeps going?
The victim can go back to court and the court can convict the person for breaching the original order and impose a prison sentence of up six months or a fine of up to $5000.
A criminal conviction if the police takes the case to court involves a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000.
“People in the public eye often have a higher tolerance towards online criticism, but when that criticism steps over the line and becomes personal, damaging and causes real world harm, nobody should suffer that,” he said.
MacKenzie on Thursday apologised for his actions, which he blamed on a rough break-up.
He described himself as a flight attendant for Air New Zealand on social media network LinkedIn, however, that profile and his other social media profiles have now been disabled.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson declined to comment for privacy reasons.
Templeton said police had spoken to her this week, but had not said if they would consider charges. “Often the threshold is a threat of physical harm, but the mental health harm needs to be taken seriously,” she said.
A police spokesperson told Stuff they could not answer questions about whether specific individuals or organisations are, or have been, under police investigation.
Templeton said she wanted to find out who the troll was so she could prevent him from doing it to anyone else.
She said the process took a long time, and it was not always clear what the steps were or whether she would be successful.
She had spoken to some MPs about calling for a review of the Harmful Digital Communication Act to ensure it was fit for purpose.
MacKenzie's fake social media accounts – Hamish Eggstein and Emiliano Donnrumma – were created in December 2020.
The targets included Christchurch city councillor Sara Templeton, Labour Minister Megan Woods and Ilam MP Sarah Pallett.
All three women blocked the profile from their social media pages, but then MacKenzie, via the Eggstein profile, started making comments about Templeton on other people’s social media posts, including those of fellow councillors.
Via the profiles, MacKenzie spread rumours about her to a colleague and Templeton was subjected to dozens of inappropriate comments and messages from that profile.
The accounts were only taken down once Templeton went public about the abuse last July.
Templeton said she contacted Netsafe and the police to start looking at next steps. The court ordered Facebook to release information it held on the Eggstein profile, and it sent the court an IP address.
The court then ordered the telecommunications company linked to the IP address to release the details of the account holder. Beattie’s details were then revealed to Templeton via the court.
Templeton said the matter was referred back to Netsafe for resolution – but her case was unusual as going public had forced her troll to take down the material already.
“My harassment has stopped. I wanted to raise awareness and stop it happening to others,” she said.
It’s a task that sounds daunting: taking on your online troll.
But Christchurch politician Sara Templeton has proved that victims can take action – and online harassers can be unmasked, fined and, in some cases, criminally prosecuted.
Two members of the Young Nats resigned from the National Party on Thursday after the courts identified their home as the source of mysoginistic trolling of female politicians.
One of them, Jessee MacKenzie, admitted he was responsible for the online harassment. His flatmate and the owner of the IP address Bryce Beattie said he had no knowledge of the online abuse, but abandoned his bid to win a community board seat and resigned from the party anyway because “it felt like the right thing to do”.
Sean Lyons who runs the Online Safety Operations Centre at Netsafe said people had a right to privacy over their information online, but that did not extend to people who were causing harm or engaging in criminal activity.
So what to do if you are the victim of online abuse?
Firstly, take screenshots of all abuse, including date, time and URL.
Secondly, contact Netsafe. Lyons said Netsafe can help you report the abuse to the online platform or social media site. In the majority of cases, the content is removed once the platform is satisfied the content breaches its terms and conditions.
What if the online content is particularly serious, or involves direct real-life threats?
Complaints can be laid with police. The police will make a judgement on whether to lay charges, Lyons said.
What happens if the platform refuses to take it down or the trolls persist or set up new or multiple accounts?
“Sometimes it’s like whack-a-mole. If the harassment is continued and personal then it is much more difficult. The harassment might seem like it is coming from lots of different people and coming from all sides and it is really difficult for people to deal with,” he said.
Victims can take civil court action, alongside or instead of a police complaint, with the help of a report from Netsafe.
“There is no charge, no cost, you don’t need a lawyer. You have to come to us first and if we can’t resolve it we provide a summary that you can take to the district court,” he said.
“It doesn’t always involve standing up in court and facing your troll and pointing the finger. It can be done on papers but does require evidence of a digital communication, so screenshots are important,” he said.
The court can order the troll to take down the material, cease the conduct and apologise.
What happens if your harasser is an anonymous troll?
The court can order an online platform to take down the material and for them or an internet protocol address provider to release the identity of the troll to the court.
Lyons said the intent of the “unmasking” was to provide the court with the right person to make the order against, rather than to reveal their identity to the victims.
“It raises a problematic question for us. We are always concerned in this situation for the person who has harm and distress caused to them, but it is right for that person to go through the proper process and take the protections the district court can provide rather than take the law into their own hands,” he said.
What happens if the troll keeps going?
The victim can go back to court and the court can convict the person for breaching the original order and impose a prison sentence of up six months or a fine of up to $5000.
A criminal conviction if the police takes the case to court involves a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000.
Deterring others
Lyons said Templeton’s case was a lesson for trolls that they could not remain anonymous, including when harassing people in the public eye.“People in the public eye often have a higher tolerance towards online criticism, but when that criticism steps over the line and becomes personal, damaging and causes real world harm, nobody should suffer that,” he said.
MacKenzie on Thursday apologised for his actions, which he blamed on a rough break-up.
He described himself as a flight attendant for Air New Zealand on social media network LinkedIn, however, that profile and his other social media profiles have now been disabled.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson declined to comment for privacy reasons.
Templeton said police had spoken to her this week, but had not said if they would consider charges. “Often the threshold is a threat of physical harm, but the mental health harm needs to be taken seriously,” she said.
A police spokesperson told Stuff they could not answer questions about whether specific individuals or organisations are, or have been, under police investigation.
Templeton said she wanted to find out who the troll was so she could prevent him from doing it to anyone else.
She said the process took a long time, and it was not always clear what the steps were or whether she would be successful.
She had spoken to some MPs about calling for a review of the Harmful Digital Communication Act to ensure it was fit for purpose.
MacKenzie's fake social media accounts – Hamish Eggstein and Emiliano Donnrumma – were created in December 2020.
The targets included Christchurch city councillor Sara Templeton, Labour Minister Megan Woods and Ilam MP Sarah Pallett.
All three women blocked the profile from their social media pages, but then MacKenzie, via the Eggstein profile, started making comments about Templeton on other people’s social media posts, including those of fellow councillors.
Via the profiles, MacKenzie spread rumours about her to a colleague and Templeton was subjected to dozens of inappropriate comments and messages from that profile.
The accounts were only taken down once Templeton went public about the abuse last July.
Templeton said she contacted Netsafe and the police to start looking at next steps. The court ordered Facebook to release information it held on the Eggstein profile, and it sent the court an IP address.
The court then ordered the telecommunications company linked to the IP address to release the details of the account holder. Beattie’s details were then revealed to Templeton via the court.
Templeton said the matter was referred back to Netsafe for resolution – but her case was unusual as going public had forced her troll to take down the material already.
“My harassment has stopped. I wanted to raise awareness and stop it happening to others,” she said.
