The dark side of the Internet
The dark side of the internet
On the internet, nothing is impossible: you can find information, creativity and help. But there are also dark sides that you need to be aware of
A post by Laura-Marie Buxmann and Melanie Molata
Saturday, 9 January 2021
The Internet: a wonderful place full of love, creativity and support, but also a place full of hate, fake news, online backlashes and bullying. ‘Nothing is impossible’ is actually the slogan of the Hyundai car brand, but we would argue that this is a very fitting description of the Internet too.
There was something big to celebrate in 2019. The Internet had already celebrated its 30th birthday. In March 1989, British physicist and computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee first presented his idea for the Internet. And lo and behold – 30 years later, we even carry the Internet around in our pockets. It’s a phenomenon without which it’s now impossible to imagine the world.
The Internet is a vast playground. A playground that anyone can use freely. Anyone can access information in seconds, stream videos and music, and communicate with people all over the world. But there are also negative reports every day that highlight the darker side of the Internet.
Cyberbullying, cybercrime, the dark web and the issue of data protection are just a few examples that highlight the dark side of the Internet.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is generally understood to be hateful and aggressive behaviour on the Internet. In most cases, this behaviour is directed against another person with the intention of causing them harm. Often, the perpetrators have a relationship with these people in their real-life social circles. The phenomenon of cyberbullying first emerged because more and more aspects of our lives are taking place online, and bullying has therefore moved from the school playground, the street or the workplace to the internet.
Furthermore, there are many different types of cyberbullying. These include, for example, the dissemination of defamatory photos or videos of people, the creation of groups solely for the purpose of bullying other people, identity theft and the spreading of falsehoods using a fake identity, and, of course, acts such as insults, harassment and threats.
There are already many different approaches to tackling cyberbullying. For one thing, prevention in schools is already recommended. The State Office of the Working Group for Child and Youth Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia (Landesstelle der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kinder- und Jugendschutz in Nordrhein-Westfalen), for example, publishes the brochure *Hate Speech. Hass im Netz. Information for Professionals and Parents*. Among other things, it contains advice on how to raise children’s and young people’s awareness of the issue of cyberbullying in an educational setting. It states that it is beneficial to improve general media literacy so that children and young people learn to use media responsibly, are informed about personal rights and data protection, and learn to reflect on their own media use. Social skills should also be fostered so that children and young people are made aware of personal boundaries, their capacity for empathy and respect is encouraged, a culture of constructive conflict resolution and feedback can be established, and anger management can be practised whilst moral courage is strengthened. It is also helpful to establish support structures by identifying desirable forms of behaviour online, introducing children and young people to support services, and developing a code of conduct together with them.
There are also organisations such as the Bündnis gegen Cybermobbing (Alliance Against Cyberbullying) which have recognised that cyberbullying is becoming an increasingly widespread problem in our society and have therefore made it their mission to counteract this trend. Through their work, they also aim to educate and raise awareness within society about the issue of cyberbullying.
Cybercrime
Cybercrime, like cyberbullying, knows no borders and can take place anywhere “where people, computers, smartphones and other IT devices are used – in companies, public authorities, universities, at home and whilst on the move” (Bundesministerium des Innern, für Bau und Heimat, English: Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Home Affairs). Perpetrators can operate from anywhere in the world and easily cover their tracks due to the borderless nature of these activities. Consequently, a crime scene is not the same as a crime location. Cybercrime includes hacker attacks, fraud, illegal uploads, cyberterrorism, malware and the unsolicited distribution of pornography. Child pornography is generally a criminal offence!!
The most common crime is the theft of a digital identity. By gaining access to a password, the stolen digital identity can be misused, for example, to enter into contracts or order goods online. The best protection against such an offence is to use a complex password instead of the commonly used ‘123456’ password. Information on good and secure passwords can be found here.
Darknet
First of all, the darknet is simply a network that allows its users to browse the internet anonymously. This network is only accessible via special software. The Tor network or the Tor browser (Tor = The Onion Router) is often used as a synonym for the darknet. However, this is not strictly accurate. The Tor network is merely one of the largest examples of these networks that enable anonymous browsing. So, first and foremost, the darknet is not illegal or prohibited in itself. However, it is not only journalists who are interested in a certain degree of anonymity on the Internet; the guaranteed anonymity of the darknet also tempts criminals to misuse it, as it is difficult or impossible to prosecute illegal activities. Many parts of the darknet do not differ from the clearnet in terms of structure and type of use. There, too, there are forums for opinions and discussions and wikis with explanations, except that the content on the darknet often relates to illegal activities and material. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that people will misuse such a platform and use it for illegal activities.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (German: Bundeskriminalamt), a significant proportion of the darknet consists of so-called darknet marketplaces, where mostly illicit goods are traded anonymously. These digital black markets on the darknet cover almost all areas of traditional criminal activity, such as narcotics and prescription drugs, weapons and explosives, child and youth pornography, counterfeit money, forged deeds and documents, counterfeit branded products, data theft, malware, and ‘crime-as-a-service’ services such as the commission or facilitation of criminal acts on behalf of others. The trafficking of narcotics on the darknet still accounts for the largest share of the illegal market. However, child and youth pornographic material, firearms and, in particular, fentanyl have disappeared from the majority of marketplaces as a result of intensive, internationally coordinated policing.
Data protection
The subject of data protection is a very frequently discussed topic on the internet. Almost every mobile app uses and processes personal data these days. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or even TikTok. We pay for all the apps provided to us for free with our personal data. You can see exactly how companies use your personal data in the privacy settings of the respective app. But how can I protect my data? And how can I stop companies from continuing to use my personal data? The answers to these questions seem simple at first: delete your cache, history, cookies and spyware, or browse the internet anonymously. However, if you don’t want to leave any personal data on the internet, you’ll have to steer clear of the major apps mentioned above and do without them. You can find out how to protect your data properly here.
Of course, the internet offers us not only negative possibilities, but positive ones too. But we should always bear the negative aspects in mind when browsing the internet. You can find more information and help on these topics here:
http://www.cybermobbing-hilfe.de/
https://www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/themen/kinder-und-jugend/medienkompetenz/was-ist-cybermobbing-/86484