One of the most influential pioneers of the information age  - Marshall McLuhan - stated that the "MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE" - The internet is the new medium, a medium which is out of control. Cyber bullying is the "unanticipated consequence" that Google has not planned for and it appears still does not have a plan.

 

We are asking for the cooperation of Google’s Board of Directors to undertake a review of Google's policies on cyber bullying and make the appropriate changes to ensure that the number of victims who are cyber bullied via google  are dramatically reduced. 

WE ARE PETITIONING GOOGLE TO

1.    Develop an anti-cyberbully strategy to make the internet and google a safer place for the community

 2.    Set up a grant program from the 50 billion Dollars google generates in revenue and give it to organizations that are countering cyberbullying and assisting victims. They are to underfunded to deal with the growing epidemic. 

 3.    Create a system where it become's easier and less costlier to remove cyberbullying content showing up on google (lawyers charge approx $10,000 to $20,000+ to have a post removed and profitting from cyberbullying)

 4.   When  a police officer or school requests a post removed in an emergency case - remove it immediately! - they have the training and judgement to make that call.

 5.    Cyberbullying on 1 google country domain - is cyberbullying on every google country domain - protecting free speech does not include cyberbullying  defamation, hate and harassment - remove the cyberbullying links from every google domain and service so the harm to the victim ends.

 6.    Immediately ban and deindex sites whose business model is focused on cyberbullying - and sites that refuse to remove defamatory content via a court order - Rip Off Report, The Dirty, Wikiscams. are just some of the sites that cause unsurmountable harm to the community.

 

 

GOOGLE - THE INTERNET'S GATEKEEPERS

Google has captured approx 70% of the search engine market share and is the leading tool used to check one's experience and profile on the internet. Employers, Acquaintance , friends, partners "Google" individuals everyday to determine whether they will do business with, associate with based upon search results on google. Google has become in some ways the gatekeeper of the internet. There is considerable responsibility in such a role.

 

7. Google is profiting from cyberbullying sites which harm innocent victims, professionals, and  companies,  Google supports cyberbully sites by providing valuable revenue via its ad programs which supports ongoing operations and cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying on Google has destroyed reputations, careers, businesses have been negatively impacted and has created harm to an entire generation of youth, to the point of lives lost.

Google features banner ads of  companies including , RBC, Bank of Montreal, BMW, Ford, Mayo Clinic, IBM, Volkswagon, Samsung, TD Bank, General Motors, Mayo Clinic on cyberbully sites

A review of the site RipOff Report will reveal ads of Canadian Companies supporting a leading Cyberbully site via Google's Doubleclick Ad Program.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/melaleuca
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/intelius
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/international-society-of-poets
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/directory/national-city-bank

We are asking for a boycott of Google Ads by all  Companies until Google ceases to support Cyberbully sites via its Ad programs and de-index such sites from all of its search engines.

 

8. GOOGLE'S POSITION APPEARS TO BE - IT'S NOT OUR PROBLEM AND WILL DO AS MINIMAL AS POSSIBLE IN ASSISTING VICTIMS OF CYBERBULLYING.

 

9. GOOGLE IS IN A POSITION MORE SO THAN ANY OTHER COMPANY TO HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON REDUCING CYBERBULLYING.  

 

10. CYBERBULLYING ON 189 GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINES AROUND THE WORLD IN 1 CLICK

One can be cyberbullied from a computer in Toronto on a site in United States and be defamed and cyberbullied on approx 189 google country search engines in an instant. One can make a request to have defamatory material removed from the country one resides in (or has a legally defendable reputation as google puts it) leaving the defamatory content on google's approx 188 country search engines.

Google contends the country sites are under jurisdiction of the countries the search engines serves, but the sites are readily available across Canada and the rest of the world. Google.com is widely used  around the world as a universal domain and the default search engine on many computers, smart phones and tablets and should be subject to local laws.

This Google policy is  illogical - no one individual has a legally protectable reputation in 189 countries. But then again logic or common sense does not seem to be driving Google's policies.

 

11. ASK GOOGLE TO REMOVE A CYBERBULLY POST AND IT'S ONE EXCUSE OR ANOTHER - 

A.    "ITS AGAINST OUR POLICES"

B.    "THERE IS A LAW THAT STATES WE DON'T HAVE TO REMOVE THE POST" 

C.    "YOU DON'T HAVE A LEGALLY DEFENSIBLE REPUTATION IN THE APPROX 188 COUNTRIES WE HAVE PUBLISHED THE CYBERBULLYING POSTS" *

D.    "THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO" (Google can remove a link in approx 10 mins)

E.    THE OBSTACLES THAT GOOGLE HAS PLACED MAKES IT NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE CYBERBULLYING POSTS. 

With each excuse Google allows the cyberbullying, harm and suffering to continue. Taking no responsibility and providing the least amount of assistance.

 

12. WITH MILLIONS'S OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD SUFFERING FROM CYBERBULLYING - WHY IS THE ONE COMPANY THAT CAN DO THE MOST TO REDUCE CYBERBULLYING DOING AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE !?!

We are calling for the cooperation of Google's board of directors and demonstrate real leadership by way of changing their policies referring to content removal and cyber bullying

 

13. Cyberbullying is an intense form of psychological abuse, whose victims are more than twice as likely to suffer  Harmful effects 

Research had demonstrated a number of serious consequences of cyberbullying victimization. For example, victims have lower self-esteem, increased suicidal ideation, and a variety of emotional responses, retaliating, being scared, frustrated, angry, and depressed 

TEENS AGREE THAT CYBERBULLYING IS NOW NO. 1 CYBERBULLYING IS NOW THE WEAPON OF CHOICE TO TORMENT AND RIDICULE ONE’S VICTIMS HTTP://BIT.LY/11YNEDC

The focus of most studies and laws has been on the "bully". Very little research on investigation has been conducted on the tools used by cyberbullies  One of the leading internet tools utilized by cyberbullies is Google. Reputations, careers, individual's health are harmed every day on google's search engines.

 

14. CYBERBULLY SITES ON GOOGLE

A major problem is google's insistence on allowing sites whose primary business model is cyberbullying.

 One such site is Rip Off Report.

 A recent US judgment labeled the website’s business practices as ‘appalling’:

http://bit.ly/10wpJDu

 The business practices of Xcentric, as presented by the evidence before this Court, are appalling. Xcentric appears to pride itself on having created a forum for defamation. No checks are in place to ensure that only reliable information is publicized. Xcentric retains no general counsel to determine whether its users are availing themselves of its services for the purpose of tortious or illegal conduct.

Even when, as here, a user regrets what she has posted and takes every effort to retract it, Xcentric refuses to allow it. Moreover, Xcentric insists in its brief that its policy is never to remove a post. It will not entertain any scenario in which, despite the clear damage that a defamatory or illegal post would continue to cause so long as it remains on the website, Xcentric would remove an offending post.

 Google has been aware of the appalling business practices of this website for some years continues to rank the site very highly on search engines.

This website has caused severe emotional and financial damage to hundreds, thousands, if not millions of people. Reputations, careers, relationships have been destroyed because of Rip Off Report and its high ranking on Google. Google and Ripoff Report are unlikely to care. 

 

15. HAS GOOGLE  REACHED A POINT WHERE IT NO LONGER LISTENS TO THE COMMUNITY OR THE CUSTOMERS ITS SERVES ?

 

Removing cyberbullying and defamatory posts from its search engines is non recoverable expense which does not increase it's bottom line, employee bonuses or return to want to cooperate or develop policies which could reduce cyberbullying. 

 

16. ARE PROFITS MORE IMPORTANT TO GOOGLE THEN CREATING A SAFER INTERNET AND PROTECTING PEOPLE FROM CYBERBULLYING !?!

 Despite all of the efforts of everyone who is countering cyberbullying - google seems to be working against those efforts to counter cyberbullying.

Google is part of the problem and needs to become part of the solution for cyberbullying.

 

17. GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD  MUST TAKE ACTION AGAINST GOOGLE

 

SOLUTION

1.    Compel google to stop indexing cyber bulling sites such as Rip Off Report.

2.    Commence and investigation and study on the impact and role that Google plays in cyber bullying and the harm that it causes victims

3.    Enact legislation forcing Google to remove content which is defamatory and cyberbullying in nature. 

4.    Forge google to remove content whose intent is to maliciously harm and abuse others.

5.    Develop a system which does not cost the average citizen $10,000 to $30,000 to gain court orders to have content removed from google.

6.    Compel google to put safeguards in place to ensure the internet becomes a safe place for Canadians and around the world.

7.    Hold google accountable for its lack of leadership in dealing with epidemic defamation and cyberbullying on its search engines and services.

8.    Find Google as the publisher of defamatory and cyberbullying content published (once notified) on google search and services and hold Google liable for the defamatory and cyberbullying content found on their search engines either by way of legislation or by way of the courts.

9.    Place disseminating cyberbullying and defamatory content via search engines in the criminal code.

 

18. GOOGLE - LOSES DEFAMATION CASE IN AUSTRALIA

Recently In Australia, google was found guilty of defamation and the courts determined google was the publisher and responsable for not acting upon the request to remove the search results. http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/vic/VSC/2012/533.html

A judge in the supreme court of the Australian state Victoria issued the fine today and,  compared Google’s search results to that of an online publisher:

In most cases, Google fights in court to the very end to protect its profits instead of protecting the people who are being harmed. With its army of lawyers it has no problem litigating its way through the legal system. With $50 billion in revenues a fine of $200k is peanuts to google.

 

19. IS GOOGLE'S MOTTO DON'T BE EVIL  HYPORCRITICAL ?

Don’t be evil.” Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But “Don’t be evil” is much more than that. Yes, it’s about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But it’s also about doing the right thing more generally – following the law, acting honorably and treating each other with respect.

In Google's 10-point corporate philosophy of Google says "You can make money without doing evil - which goes completely against the conduct of Rip Off Report.

 

20. THE COMMUNITY MUST TAKE ACTION AGAINST GOOGLE

The community cannot wait any longer for google to act responsibly, the community including our governments, academics and organizations must compel google to act in the best interest of the community.

When the laws (US CDA- Communications Decency Act) do not protect the community, it is up to the community and corporate citizens such as google to take on the responsibility to  put in the safeguards to ensure that  people are not being harmed or one uses good old common sense.

Google could do nothing and let the status quo continue - google will continue to make record profits, and the cyberbullying epidemic will continue to grow, more young people will commit suicide, more families will be destroyed, more reputations and careers will be harmed.

Perhaps its time for Google to be part of the solution and not exasperate the problem

We are asking for The Google cyber bullying initiative to start with an announcement from Google in the next 30 days.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP CYBERBULLYING !