The first Global Stop Cyberbullying Youth Summit to be held outside of North America took place at Facebook Headquarters in Dublin and Limerick Institute of Technology on Thursday 7th May and on Saturday 9th May. Over 250 young people, law enforcers, industry representatives, teachers, international experts and policymakers came together to draw up a plan to address the issue of cyberbullying. Carol Lynch, a PhD student from the School of Law, was invited to participate along with representatives from Google, Facebook, Ask.fm, International Social Games Assoc., Microsoft and young people from various schools around the country. The event was sponsored by Google and Facebook. Carol is working under the supervision of Dr Eimear Spain’s and her research involves the examination of cyberbullying and the efficacy of current legislation in tackling this issue. Of particular interest to her studies is how Irish criminal law deals with the impact of emotional harm sustained as a result of cyberbullying. Her research also includes an examination of the approaches taken in other jurisdictions, particularly, their approach to the issue of emotional harm, evaluating the consistency and soundness of such approaches.
Pictured are Parry Aftab, Chair of StopCyberbullying Global and CEO WiredTrust, Inc.US with Carolanne Lynch, UL, at Facebook HQ, Dublin.