Law Reform: Impact of Emerging Tech Issues on Individuals

This report examines the need for law reform in Australia due to emerging technological issues, particularly cyberbullying. It analyzes the impact of technology on individuals and the societal changes driving the need for updated legislation. The report focuses on the Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015 (Cth), detailing its provisions, limitations, and amendments. It discusses the Act's role in addressing cyberbullying, its shortcomings in protecting individuals beyond children, and the 2017 amendments to broaden its scope. The report highlights the Act's lack of provisions for the Commissioner to hire or delegate powers to staff, which limits its efficiency. It references scholarly articles that discuss the psychological and social effects of cyberbullying, including its association with depression, anxiety, and even suicidal tendencies. The report concludes by suggesting improvements to the Act, such as providing adequate staffing and delegation of powers to enhance the effective control of cyberbullying and better protect individuals from its harmful effects.

Law reform on emerging
technological issues
Impact Of Such Issues On An
Individual

 It is the method of interpreting and
analyzing the existing laws of a state
(Levy et al. 2017).
 It also includes recommending the
changes that are required to be
incorporated in the present legal system
to allow better discharge of justice.
Law reform:

 The Australian state is gradually advancing
and progressing by the use of modern
technology.
 However an important factor that results
from this progress and advancement is the
change in the society values and its people.
 It acts as a catalyst to the emergency of
effecting amendment of existing law related
to the technology which results into law
reform.
Law reform (Contd.):

 Technology has different kind of impact on different
people, to some people; it had only positive impact
whereas to some it had tremendous negative
impact (Robbins et al. 2017).
 Technology has been widely used in the daily lives
of the people as it eases and simplifies the work
involved in it making people highly dependent on
it.
 One of the emerging technological issues is the
cyber bullying issue for which legal reform is
required.
Issue of emerging
technology:

 Cyber bullying refers to the misusing the digital
communication by an individual for threatening,
coercing, harassing another individual.
 Cyber bullying is a crime and must be controlled
which again act as the catalyst to the need of
immediate law reform.
 This is a serious offence mainly among the
teenage group of people.
Cyber bullying

 It is very common day to day affairs causing the
victim subjected to high risk of depression and
anxiety often making them commit suicides
(Kowalski and Giumetti 2017).
 Moreover, cyber bullying is often found to expose
the victim not only to depression but also
exposing them to binge drinking, violent behavior
and they even have a tendency to commit crime
in order to take revenge from those who are
responsible for cyber bullying.
Effect of Cyber bullying:

 Beside these, the perpetrators being of
young age when get penalized for their acts,
they also become aggressive and often
found to get engaged in drinking habits,
group crimes.
 Moreover the victims can even get
associated with inflicting self-harm.
Effect of Cyber bullying
(Contd.):

 The Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015 (Cth)
allows the Australians who are subjected to
serious cyber bullying to register complaints
regarding it.
 It empowers the Commissioner to investigate
the complaints regarding serious cyber bullying
incidents when the victim is an Australian child.
The Enhancing Online Safety Act
2015 (Cth)

 However, the Act has not empowered the
Commissioner to take necessary step in case
of any cyber bullying committed against any
other individual other than children.
 With this view the Act was amended in 2017
to expand the ambit of the Act such that any
individual subjected to cyber bullying can
register their grievances by making
complaints.
Reform of the Enhancing Online
Safety Act 2015 (Cth)

 However, although the commissioner is provided support
by the Australian Communications and Media Authority
(ACMA) but adequate staffs must be provided such that the
Commissioner can act more efficiently and in a faster way.
 There lies no provision under this Act for the
Commissioner to hire any staff for such purpose directly.
 Moreover, the Commissioner cannot even delegate his
powers to any such staffs due to the effect of section 63 of
the Act.
 If these were modified in the Act, then proper control of
cyber bullying can result.
Drawbacks of the Enhancing
Online Safety Act 2015 (Cth)

 Levy, R., O’Brien, M., Rice, S., Ridge, P. and Thornton,
M. eds., 2017. New Directions for Law in Australia:
Essays in Contemporary Law Reform. ANU Press.
 Robbins, J.C., Nairn, J., Williamson, G.J., Wheeler, A.J.,
Campbell, S., Bowman, D.M.J.S. and Johnston, F.H.,
2017, September. Challenges for verifying global
heatwave and coldwave forecasts: Can emerging
technology help?. In 21ST INTERNATIONAL
CONGRESS OF BIOMETEOROLOGY (p. 72).
 Kowalski, R.M. and Giumetti, G.W., 2017. Bullying in
the digital age. In Cybercrime and its victims (pp.
167-186). Routledge.
 The Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015 (Cth) .
References: