Facebook has responded to the Palaszczuk Government’s action to tackle cyberbullying saying it agrees that social media companies can do more to address the issue.
The company’s Global Head of Safety posted the response on the Premier’s Facebook page after the Premier took to social media on Monday (15 October, 2018) to announce her government would be implementing all 29 recommendations from the Anti-Cyberbullying Taskforce report.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Facebook’s response was a promising start.
"Earlier this week I announced a $3.5 million commitment to protect our children from cyberbullies which includes rolling out awareness and education campaigns, funding for school programs and grants for community organisations," she said.
"The challenge that cyberbullying presents demands action from us all, including social media companies and what we heard from the Taskforce report was that they weren’t doing enough.
"Social media companies need to be partners with government in taking a leadership role in protecting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people online."
Facebook’s Global Head of Safety Antigone Davis commended the Taskforce for their work and said the company looked forward to continuing to work with the Queensland Government on this issue.
"I commend the Taskforce for their extensive work to look in to all aspects of bullying and their comprehensive report and recommendations to all stakeholders, including technology companies, to do more to address bullying," Ms Davis said.
"We agree with the Taskforce and the Queensland Government that technology companies like Facebook can always do more to address bullying and promote greater awareness of the ways in which young people, parents and educators can resolve conflict that happens on our services.
"This is why we work so closely with over 400 online safety organizations around the world, including Australian organisations like PROJECT ROCKIT, Alannah and Madeline Foundation, headspace and Kids Helpline.
"The safety of everyone — especially young people — who use our services is our most important priority."
