Women “much more concerned” than men about internet issues

March 24, 2023

Women “much more concerned” than men about internet issues

Being online is a source of concern for the women of Aotearoa. Photo: Vanessa Elley

New research has found that women are significantly more concerned than men about internet issues such as discriminatory messaging, extremist material and hate speech.

Positive change is needed to make sure the internet is a safe space for everyone in Aotearoa, said  Vivien Maidaborn, chief executive of InternetNZ which commissioned the research.

“Tragically, we know that many women in our society are experiencing misogyny every day. While this new data is not surprising, it does help to highlight the issues we are still facing as a society.”

InternetNZ’s Internet Insights report for 2022, carried out by specialist research group Kantar Public, returned results showing men were less worried by percentage about the same concerns.

Of women surveyed, 70 per cent said they were either extremely or very concerned about the internet being used to share dangerous or discriminatory messages, in comparison to 57 percent of men.

At 66 per cent, women are also more worried than men about hate speech and extremist material online, with only 52 percent of men extremely or very concerned.

Maidaborn says the current laws and processes for dealing with harmful online content are not enough.

“Right now, our laws and processes are not adequate for the online world and are not helping to keep people safe from online harm. We need the government to take a robust look at key laws designed for broadcast media and update them for the challenges facing Aotearoa in the Internet era.”

Proposed hate speech law reforms were postponed earlier this year, referred to the Law Commission as part of a “refocus” of government policy from Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

“It was disappointing to see work addressing the incitement of hate online further delayed by the government. This came after hundreds of people across a range of communities had put their effort and experiences into improving the proposed law changes,” says Maidaborn.

The full findings from the Internet Insights report can be found on the InternetNZ website.

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