The pre-conference workshop steering group welcomes researchers, legal experts, police and courts representatives, ISPs and mobile phone companies to share their knowledge and experiences with regard to the legal aspects of cyberbullying in school settings, during a poster session.

Proposals for posters (in the form of an abstract of max. 350 words) can only be submitted using the electronic submission form on the pre-conference website .

The (extended)deadline for submissions is: March 1st, 2010. 

All abstracts will be peer-reviewed. Authors will be notified if their abstract has been selected or not for poster presentation, along with a schedule and guidelines for presentation by March 8th 2010. If you do not receive any notification of your abstract's status, please contact us by e-mail .

All accepted abstracts will be published on the website of COST action IS0801.
The authors of the best contributions will be asked to cooperate on a country report book, about the legal aspects regarding cyberbullying, published by an internationally renowned publisher.

TOPICS

Legal experts and (cyber bullying) researchers can, for instance, focus on:

• The way cyberbullying acts can be defined and classified in legal terms (which laws are applicable?).
• Possible legal hiatuses.
• The rights and responsibilities of the parties involved (youngsters, parents, schools, ISPs), legal procedures, legal sanctions. The following questions can, for instance, be addressed:
  • What are the limits of the freedom of speech for students? What are the possible sanctions for (young) cyberbullies? Which legal actions can be undertaken by cyberbullying victims?
  • When can a school legally respond to cyberbullying by disciplining the student (versus freedom of speech)? When must a school respond to cyberbullying (liability, negligence, duty of care…)? When should a school contact, or assist a parent in contacting, law enforcement officials? How is cyberbullying addressed in school rules and policies?
  • What contractual sanctions can ISP include to combat cyber bullying? , When must ISP respond to cyber bullying (Liability)? When should ISP/Mobile phone companies inform/cooperate with the police/courts?
  • When should parents consider civil litigation against the bully and parents of the bully? And what are the concrete steps they have to undertake ? When are parents responsible for the cyber bullying behavior of their children? And what are the legal consequences/sanctions?

• Concrete cyberbullying cases (and their legal consequences) in their country.
• The desirability and efficacy of legal actions for the prevention of cyberbullying.

• The number and nature of (reported) cyberbullying incidences; the profile of the youngsters involved in cyberbullying.
• The way cyberbullying cases are treated by the police and the courts.
• Difficulties experienced by the police/the courts in addressing cyberbullying
• The outcomes of legal actions (for cyberbullying victims and perpetrators).
• The desirability of legal actions in the case of cyberbullying.
• Other (preventative) actions from police departments / courts.

• The legal framework – relevant for cyberbullying – they are working in.
• How their contracts/terms of service allow them to undertake actions against cyberbullies.
• The number and nature of notifications, requests from victims, their parents, or the police.
• Other – non-contractual – initiatives of ISPs and mobile phone companies with regard to cyberbullying (e.g. prevention, technological protection, ….)