Red Cross, ChildMinder and Telenor stand together against digital bullying: Shutting the mobile phone bullies out

A recent survey carried out by Opinion for Telenor shows that as many as 85% of Norwegian parents think that new forms of communication like mobile phones and the Internet are tending to make bullying and teasing more common among children and young people. And one parent in four thinks that digital bullying is more serious than normal bullying. 15 per cent of Norwegian children aged 10 to 15 say that they have been subjected to it themselves or know somebody who has been subjected to it. And almost half of all children aged 10 to 15 say they have carried out such mobile bullying or teasing themselves or know someone who has done it.

"The survey shows that digital bullying is a big problem for many children and young people, and it's a problem that seems to be on the increase. As a provider of mobile phone and Internet services, Telenor takes this problem very seriously. We want to be the best at safety and security and have therefore developed a bully filter as a first step on the path to an even safer total service," says CEO Telenor Norway, Ragnar Kårhus.

Bully filter
The new bully filter from Telenor gives users the opportunity to blacklist mobile phone numbers they don't want to receive text or images from. The bully filter may easily be activated by calling Telenor's customer service on 09000. Then it is up to the user to enter numbers on www.telenor.no . Once the bully filter has been installed, blacklisted messages will be sent to a dedicated e-mail account at www.telenor.no , so that the user can access them if so desired. The sender of any blacklisted message that has been blocked will receive the following message: "Warning. You have been blocked from sending messages to this number." The bully filter will be available from 15 December and both installation and use are completely free of charge.

Big awareness campaign
To boost preventive work against digital bullying, the Red Cross, ChildMinder and Telenor have developed a major awareness campaign to put the spotlight on digital bullying via mobile phones and the Internet. The first phase of a large regional tour will visit more than 50 lower secondary schools with detailed information about digital bullying in 2009. The aim is to inform parents, children and young people about how they can help to prevent digital bullying and how best to fight the problem. VG Nettby is also supporting the campaign. As Norway's biggest Internet community with almost 800,000 users, Nettby will be campaigning against digital bullying among its users.

"The most important thing is to ensure that children never receive a message that makes them feel compelled to shut out troublesome children of their own age. Our work must be preventive, and the key to avoid digital bullying is good communication between adults and children. Much of the bullying could be headed off in advance if we adults became an active presence in our children's day to day lives," says Kjellaug T. Tønnesen, consultant at ChildMinder.

Security for parents
If the mobile phone messages actually do come, both parents and children are secure in the knowledge that tools exist to protect them against undesirable messages," says Tønnesen.

"It is extremely positive that an organisation like Telenor is accepting its social responsibility by devoting substantial resources to a bully filter and the preventive work in schools. All the attention this issue gets is worth its weight in gold, and we are looking on it as a welcome gift to children, parents and schools who are working towards securing a good and safe digital experience," says Tønnesen.

A united front against digital bullying
Red Cross has been helping children affected by bullying for many years and believes the mobile phone filter from Telenor is a useful and important measure in the work of combating digital bullying.

"With the Red Cross meeting points on phone and Internet and this new bully filter from Telenor, we want to work together to give children a better day to day life. We want to tell both the bullies and their victims that it is not acceptable to bully others or expose them to ridicule on mobile phones and the Internet," says Karianne Christensen, who is responsible for the Internet helpline Korspahalsen.no. In 2007, the Red Cross helpline for children and young people received 75,000 telephone calls and responded to more than 4,000 e-mails from children aged 6 to 18. On korspahalsen.no, young people can help each other and more than 12,000 entries were published last year.

"Here at the Red Cross, we are talking to children and young people every day about things that concern them. Children find it easier to talk about difficult things if they can use a keyboard, and more and more of them are raising topics like bullying, mental harassment, violence and assault in their messages to us," says Christensen.

By ringing the Red Cross helpline on 800 333 21 or visiting the website www.korspahalsen.no children can receive help and support from adults they can trust. It is completely anonymous and free of charge, even when you call from a mobile phone.

For further information, please contact:

Telenor's information manager, Atle Lessum
telephone: 415 05 645

Red Cross media manager, Jon Martin Larsen
mobile: 907 70 437

Kjellaug T. Tønnesen, consultant at ChildMinder
telephone: 56 31 40 50 or mobile: 473 75 686.

See also www.telenor.no for further information.