“The Dark Reality of Cyberbullying: Shocking Examples and Call for Action”

A 12-year-old student is traumatized after a terrible act by her friend. While the two were having a video chat, the victim girl decided to take a shower. Since they were friends, the 12-year-old did not expect what would follow. Her friend decided to record these scenes in the shower. She then shared the clip in the class Viber group. That’s how he became known to many people. as taunts and bullying ensued.

The example was presented by Antoaneta Vasileva, who is the coordinator of the Center for Safe Internet, during the discussion on cyberbullying at the House of Culture in Plovdiv, a “Maritsa” reporter reported.

She pointed to two more striking examples of harassment. In the second case, the victim was a 14-year-old boy with special educational needs. He takes a picture of himself with his phone in his boxers. He shared about her with a classmate. During PE class. when the phones are gathered in one place, the young man in question takes advantage, picks up the phone and forwards the picture in question to himself in his underwear. It was also facilitated by the fact that the phone was without a password. He then blackmailed him for money, threatening to publish the footage.

The third example is also striking. In it, the main character is a 15-year-old girl. It meets a stranger online. Sends nude photos of herself. After they see each other live, she realizes that she is not a peer, but an adult. Immediately terminates relations with him. However, he discovers her profile on social networks and starts blackmailing her that if she doesn’t keep sending him nude shots, he will publish the ones he already has.

Antoineta Vasileva emphasizes something very important. She pointed out that only one social network does not want to cooperate and work with any institution to prevent such incidents and violence – it is Telegram. “When there is a problem, they refuse to download videos or photos with such content, which is a problem,” emphasized Vasileva and drew attention to the app in question.

She emphasized that teens and parents are heating up the Safer Internet Center’s online chat phones. Each alert is sent to the competent authorities, including the GDBOP, Europol and Interpol.

The Deputy Chairman of the District Court in Plovdiv, who also took part in the discussion, pointed out that crime develops where there is a legal vacuum, bearing in mind, for example, that there is still no legal definition of cyberbullying.

Deputy District Prosecutor Anna Vikova recalled that one of the first cases related to cyberbullying and cybercrime was in Plovdiv. A man registered on a children’s gaming site, posing as a 13-year-old. He selected victims, convinced them to take nude pictures, then blackmailed them for money and more pornographic content. After his arrest, more than 6,000 files of nude photos of minors were found on his computer, which he sent to people with similar interests. “There is a systemic problem, we need legislative solutions, but we are not completely helpless in this fight,” emphasized Vikova.

The district prosecutor Petar Petrov assured the participants in the discussion that the prosecution, the court and the judicial authorities in general are in their place. “I’m going to address another issue. We need to be more careful about what platforms our kids are watching videos on and what their content is,” he said, referring to high-profile influencers. “Young people are looking for fame with their behavior. We have to monitor what our children are doing on the Internet,” emphasized Petrov.

Photos by Natasha Maneva