I want to take action against online comments about me / images of me, what can I do?
If you come across comments about - or images of - you on the Web that you feel are inappropriate, you can contact the online provider and ask them to investigate whether the material contravenes their terms of service.
Many internet companies, social networking providers and video-sharing sites are keen to make their spaces as safe as possible, so inappropriate content may breach their terms of service and can be removed.
Perhaps someone has posted a video of you online without your permission or has written something defamatory about you in a blog. Whatever it is, you can take action.
One example is that some people are misusing social networking sites and creating fake (also called "imposter”) profiles that claim to be someone they are not, such as another child or a teacher.
These fake profiles might include inappropriate images taken on a mobile and uploaded to the site, so they can be very distressing.
In many cases, they're set up as a bit of fun and the imposter doesn't consider the consequences. But some fake profiles are created to cause deliberate harm or to upset the other person.
As a teacher, you might be the victim of a fake profile set up either as a joke or by a disgruntled student who wants to undermine or embarrass you.
Inappropriate comments, images and fake profiles can be very distressing - especially as it doesn't take long for them to make their way around the school community - so you need to take action immediately:
- Report the incident to a senior manager and your school's e-safety co-ordinator.
- The quickest and most effective way of removing content from the internet is to ask the author to delete it - if you know who is responsible for it. Make sure they understand why the material is hurtful and why they should remove it.
- If you don't know who has posted the comments or images or set up the fake social networking profile, report it to the company that runs the website in question straight away. You can find contact details for some of the leading internet providers and video-sharing website YouTube here.