We spoke at Cyber Week in Israel to discuss how governments around the world can tackle the growing issues of cyberbullying and online harms.
The week-long event, a joint venture with the British Council and Israeli government, brought together diplomats from around the world as well as leading technology, education, and security experts to discuss governmental responsibilities toward its citizens, the challenges and opportunities of harnessing technology to manage online risks, and the opportunities for collaboration in creating a safe and positive digital future.
We are honored to have been invited to speak at such an important event. We have always seen international collaborations as the best way forward in tackling online harms and cyberbullying, so it is encouraging to see this approach now being adopted by world leaders and industry stakeholders.
Laura Lewandowski, Chief Policy Officer, The Cybersmile Foundation
As part of Cyber Week, we were invited to speak on a panel at a roundtable discussion covering online harms and preventive solutions. Cybersmile co-founder Dan Raisbeck attended the roundtable and spoke about the need for collaborations in developing technology-based solutions, education, and support for the victims of online harms. He was joined on the panel by a number of experts, including speakers from the UK Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) and the Israeli Online Child Protection Bureau.
The Cyber Week roundtable focused on particularly challenging areas of online safety, which included the protection of free speech when dealing with online harms and how best to encourage parents and young people to communicate and work together when dealing with digital wellbeing.
Among the topics discussed, freedom of speech was high on the agenda, with the difficult question still remaining: "Who is going to decide what constitutes 'harmful' when people interact online?"