The emergence and popularity of new social networks has opened space for a multitude of virtual interactions between people from diverse backgrounds. Consequently, the internet allows anyone to become a “communicator”, with access to a wide audience to share their views. With the virtual environment becoming one of the most important centers of public debate, innovative policies and measures that reduce online attacks and potential harm against vulnerable groups, while also guaranteeing the participation of minorities in the digital landscape, are needed. While human moderation has served as the traditional modality towards that end , the sheer vastness of content generated daily online has created the need for AI to act as an additional tool in the fight against harmful content. 

Feminist studies understand online harassment (also referred to as online bullying) to be an expression of broader cultural patterns that relegate  women to  an inferior position in society. Additionally, recent literature discussing online harassment and hate speech draws a sharp distinction between harassment directed at a person for being part of a specific group and from offense directed at a person for their views, with the consequences on the first group being more profound. Subsequently, groups that already suffer from discursive violence and inequalities are potentially more vulnerable to becoming the targets of online harassment. 

According to the literature, women are more likely than men to stop publishing content or engaging in social media after experiencing online attacks. These studies also show how online bullying directed at women is unique in that it generally expresses as hyperbolic offenses and sexualized mockery. In many cases, the attacker further characterizes the victim as unintelligent, hysterical and ugly, and  makes threats and/or relays fantasies about violent sexual acts generally thought of as ways to “correct” the women or girls’ behavior. 

For women, the experiences of other women —and, consequently, their knowledge of the risks of being subject to similar situations— can generate fear, even if they themselves have not previously gone through the same harassment. One of the most critical findings of the Data & Society survey is that online bullying, in addition to causing fear and other emotional symptoms, makes vulnerable groups more careful —if not reluctant— to express their views on the internet: four out of ten women say they have self-censored to prevent online harassment. Black and LGBTQIA individuals also tend to be more self-censoring than Whites and heterosexual people. For this reason, harassment can be a threat to the very ideals of equality and equitable democratic participation.

This edition of Links We Like explores the ways in which AI can be utilized to identify, measure and curtail online harassment, in order to create a safer and more equitable online experience for users of all backgrounds, thus helping to democratize freedom of expression in the digital landscape.