the Internet giants “have their share of responsibility”, believes a digital education specialist

Yasmine Buono, founder of the Connected Generation organization, points out the responsibility of the Internet giants in acts of harassment. The parents of a victim, who committed suicide two years ago, file a complaint against TikTok.

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A first complaint from a family of harassment filed against TikTok in France.  Illustrative photo (JAAP ARRIENS / NURPHOTO)

“TikTok’s algorithm does nothing to protect children”deplores Yasmine Buono, specialist in digital education and president of Génération Connecte, after the announcement of the first complaint in France filed against TikTok by parents whose daughter, victim of school harassment via the social network, committed suicide there at two years old.

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“TikTok knows perfectly well that there are a lot of minors who are connected to its application and that these are minors who will also send hateful messages to each other. But the messages are not removed, or even promoted in the distribution”she explains, considering that the Internet giants “have their share of responsibility” in these cases.

“We will develop empathy, free speech. They all need to talk.”

Faced with the inaction of the platforms, Yasmina Buono believes that the solution which consists of telling young people to no longer go on social networks is impossible to implement: “How do you want to cut the networks today when we are all connected and this is potentially the future for the professional future of the younger generations?”

Banning cyberstalkers from social networks for 6 to 12 months, as Emmanuel Macron wishes and which will be the subject of a text debated in Parliament in the coming weeks, is a “first advance”but we must not act only“in reaction”. For Yasmina Buono, it is also necessary in establishments “give the power to act to each student, the harassed, the harassers and the witnesses. If we take them all together, we will develop empathy, free speech. They all need to speak.”


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