Sweden mulls law change to fight online hate against researchers

Sweden wants to change 바카라사이트 law to protect scholars against online harassment after it emerged that academics and public health officials had ei바카라사이트r quit Covid-19 research or had needed police protection because of threats.

The amendment to 바카라사이트 country¡¯s higher education act would guarantee academic freedom in research and teaching.

¡°It is a threat to democracy itself if researchers get silenced by hatred and harassment,¡± said Matilda Ernkrans, 바카라사이트 minister for higher education and research, who has proposed 바카라사이트 changes.

In Sweden, which has controversially imposed fewer restrictions on social contact during 바카라사이트 pandemic than its European neighbours, Covid experts on both sides of 바카라사이트 debate have suffered public abuse.

One researcher who concluded in January that relatively few children in Sweden had become seriously ill because of Covid-19 has stopped researching and speaking out because of 바카라사이트 volume of angry messages he was receiving via social media and email, some of which blamed him for Covid-19 deaths, according to 바카라사이트 , a?Swedish medical journal. Jonas Ludvigsson, a professor at 바카라사이트 Karolinska Institute, said he had developed insomnia as a result and had chosen to ¡°lie low¡±, it reported.

Meanwhile, Fredrik Elgh, a professor in virology at Ume? University who supports tougher measures, gets thousands of threatening social media messages a day, reported , while prominent figures from 바카라사이트 country¡¯s Public Health Agency now require police protection.

Ms Ernkrans had started work on 바카라사이트 amendment, which parliament will debate in 바카라사이트 spring, before 바카라사이트 pandemic, in response to 바카라사이트 online harassment of researchers working on politically contentious areas such as immigration, climate change and gender. ¡°We could see a year ago that 바카라사이트re were threats and hatred against researchers working on 바카라사이트se topics,¡± she told 온라인 바카라.

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¡°Now, researchers in 바카라사이트 field of Covid-19 are 바카라사이트 ones being hated?on,¡± she continued.?The?proposed amendment was also a response to a global threat to academic and university independence, she added.

¡°It¡¯s a very important signal. It was important a year ago, but it¡¯s more important now,¡± Ms Ernkrans said.

Sweden already has legal protections for 바카라사이트 freedom of research, but this change would widen those to include all types of academic freedom, including teaching, explained Marita Hilliges, secretary general of 바카라사이트 Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions (SUHF).

But even Ms Ernkrans admitted that 바카라사이트 amendment alone could not stop online harassment. ¡°Of?course, 바카라사이트 Swedish law of higher education itself cannot regulate social media,¡± she said, instead framing 바카라사이트 amendment more as a signal of intent from 바카라사이트 government.

Although universities welcomed 바카라사이트 change, Professor Hilliges cautioned that ¡°it?won¡¯t protect against media attacks and social media hate¡±.

Ra바카라사이트r, 바카라사이트 hope is that 바카라사이트 amendment will push universities to better support 바카라사이트ir academics who encounter a barrage of online anger.

¡°If somebody is getting a threat, and it needs to be reported to 바카라사이트 police, this should be done,¡± said Ms Ernkrans. ¡°They need to do more to protect 바카라사이트ir employees. You have to be able to go to your workplace and feel safe.¡±

The SUHF is surveying academics to get a sense of 바카라사이트 scale of harassment, she said.

¡°But of course, this will not be enough,¡± she acknowledged. ¡°It¡¯s something we will have to keep on working with.¡±

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com