Cyberbullying on Weibo and the Ineffectiveness of Its Anti-cyberbullying Policies in Prevention and Regulation of Cyberbullying—Investigation into Liu Xuezhou’s Case

Research Article
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Cyberbullying on Weibo and the Ineffectiveness of Its Anti-cyberbullying Policies in Prevention and Regulation of Cyberbullying—Investigation into Liu Xuezhou’s Case

Haoxuan Sun 1* , Xingyu Xu 2 , Ruilin Guo 3 , Nuo Li 4 , Tinglu Feng 5
  • 1 PennState University Abington, Abington, Pa 19001, United States    
  • 2 University of Rochester, Rochester, 14627, United States    
  • 3 Chongqing No.1 International Studies School, Chongqing, 401122, China    
  • 4 Tianjin Foreign Studies University, Tianjin, 300011, China    
  • 5 QingTeng Academy, Guangzhou, 510000, China    
  • *corresponding author ericsun070@gmail.com
LNEP Vol.4
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-915371-33-1
ISBN (Online): 978-1-915371-34-8

Abstract

Social media platforms’ policies aim to restrict cyberbullying. However, there is little study on whether these policies are effective. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of the Weibo policy between 2012-2022 against cyberbullying and find a way to strengthen its effectiveness. We studied the Case of Liu Xuezhou, which is a typical example of cyberbullying. By studying the case and analyzing how relevant policies of Weibo worked or failed in preventing the case, this research found that although Weibo does have a policy to prevent cyberbullying, they are delayed and ineffective. Thus, when netizens encounter cyberbullying, the policies against cyber violence have little power in preventing its happening or help reducing the harm suffered by victims. Weibo, as one of the biggest social media platforms in China, should strengthen the prevention and regulation of cyberbullying by increasing the effectiveness of these policies' terminology and enforcement. Meanwhile, netizens should improve their ability to distinguish between right and wrong and participate in the prevention of cyberbullying themselves.

Keywords:

anti-cyberbullying, policy, analysis, Chinese social media, Liu Xuezhou

Sun,H.;Xu,X.;Guo,R.;Li,N.;Feng,T. (2023). Cyberbullying on Weibo and the Ineffectiveness of Its Anti-cyberbullying Policies in Prevention and Regulation of Cyberbullying—Investigation into Liu Xuezhou’s Case. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,4,851-858.
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References

[1]. Liu Chen. (2013, May 13). Cyberbullying: "The Tyranny of the Majority" and the Abuse of Free Speech. People. http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2013/0513/c143844-21457896.html/

[2]. Wang Xizhong.(2022, February 28). Online Violence under the Resonance of Social Media and Mainstream Media - Reflections on the "Liu Xuezhou Incident.Shandong Business News Agency. https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFDLAST2022&filename=QMTY2022Z1020&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=DNLZvkJ2Ek406SjdgzX3ClWbaoQZyh6Kuri4zTOoKhKLt6LMvYKV7ncvH1QiDkCA/

[3]. Weibo Administrator. (2021, May 27).Weibo Community Policy. Weibo. https://service.account.weibo.com/roles/gongyue/

[4]. Weibo Administrator. (2021, May 27).

[5]. Wang Xizhong. (2022, February 28).

[6]. Liu Xuezhou wishes the perpetrators to be punished.(n.d) Retrieved Auguest 12, 2022, from https://m.s.weibo.com/vtopic/detail?q=%23Liuxuezhouwishedpunishmenttodetratorsinsuicidenote%23&uid=0&media_show=1&showmenu=0&luicode=10000011&lfid=231522type%3D1%26t%3D10%26q%3D%23 Liuxuezhouwishedpunishmentinsuicidenote %23

[7]. Weibo Administrator. (2021, May 27).

[8]. Wang Xizhong.(2022, February 28).

[9]. Weibo. (n.d.). Weibo complains operation rules.

[10]. Thepaper. (2022, January 24). Weibo responds to the "Liu Xuezhou Incident": Clean up illegal content and improve privacy protection functions. 163 News.

[11]. People's Information. (2022, January 24). More than a thousand users who have sent private messages to Liu Xuezhou were suspended from the private message function, murderous cyberbullying must be rectified. Sina News. https://k.sina.cn/article_7517400647_1c0126e4705902kfus.html?from=news/

[12]. Weibo Administrator. (2021, May 27).

[13]. Nikolaou Dimitrios.(2017, September 21). Does Cyberbullying Impact Youth Suicidal Behaviors? ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629617300528/

[14]. Li Gensheng. (2022, May 25). Current situation, causes and governance of cyber violence in the new media era. Media Forum (10),37-39.https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFDLAST2022&filename=CMLT202210010&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=m9fJRU160M54lA08HM5Z3R20I4s9GjtkdWjDUmcGcNhDq0ctJEKKCO0HlLda398M

[15]. Yang Xiaoru. (2010, March 15).Research on Weibo in the Perspective of Communication Science.CNKI.Net. https://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-DACB201002025.htm/

Cite this article

Sun,H.;Xu,X.;Guo,R.;Li,N.;Feng,T. (2023). Cyberbullying on Weibo and the Ineffectiveness of Its Anti-cyberbullying Policies in Prevention and Regulation of Cyberbullying—Investigation into Liu Xuezhou’s Case. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,4,851-858.

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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies (ICIHCS 2022), Part 3

ISBN：978-1-915371-33-1(Print) / 978-1-915371-34-8(Online)
Editor：Muhammad Idrees, Matilde Lafuente-Lechuga
Conference website: https://www.icihcs.org/
Conference date: 18 December 2022
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.4
ISSN：2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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References

[1]. Liu Chen. (2013, May 13). Cyberbullying: "The Tyranny of the Majority" and the Abuse of Free Speech. People. http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2013/0513/c143844-21457896.html/

[2]. Wang Xizhong.(2022, February 28). Online Violence under the Resonance of Social Media and Mainstream Media - Reflections on the "Liu Xuezhou Incident.Shandong Business News Agency. https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFDLAST2022&filename=QMTY2022Z1020&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=DNLZvkJ2Ek406SjdgzX3ClWbaoQZyh6Kuri4zTOoKhKLt6LMvYKV7ncvH1QiDkCA/

[3]. Weibo Administrator. (2021, May 27).Weibo Community Policy. Weibo. https://service.account.weibo.com/roles/gongyue/

[4]. Weibo Administrator. (2021, May 27).

[5]. Wang Xizhong. (2022, February 28).

[6]. Liu Xuezhou wishes the perpetrators to be punished.(n.d) Retrieved Auguest 12, 2022, from https://m.s.weibo.com/vtopic/detail?q=%23Liuxuezhouwishedpunishmenttodetratorsinsuicidenote%23&uid=0&media_show=1&showmenu=0&luicode=10000011&lfid=231522type%3D1%26t%3D10%26q%3D%23 Liuxuezhouwishedpunishmentinsuicidenote %23

[7]. Weibo Administrator. (2021, May 27).

[8]. Wang Xizhong.(2022, February 28).

[9]. Weibo. (n.d.). Weibo complains operation rules.

[10]. Thepaper. (2022, January 24). Weibo responds to the "Liu Xuezhou Incident": Clean up illegal content and improve privacy protection functions. 163 News.

[11]. People's Information. (2022, January 24). More than a thousand users who have sent private messages to Liu Xuezhou were suspended from the private message function, murderous cyberbullying must be rectified. Sina News. https://k.sina.cn/article_7517400647_1c0126e4705902kfus.html?from=news/

[12]. Weibo Administrator. (2021, May 27).

[13]. Nikolaou Dimitrios.(2017, September 21). Does Cyberbullying Impact Youth Suicidal Behaviors? ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629617300528/

[14]. Li Gensheng. (2022, May 25). Current situation, causes and governance of cyber violence in the new media era. Media Forum (10),37-39.https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFDLAST2022&filename=CMLT202210010&uniplatform=NZKPT&v=m9fJRU160M54lA08HM5Z3R20I4s9GjtkdWjDUmcGcNhDq0ctJEKKCO0HlLda398M

[15]. Yang Xiaoru. (2010, March 15).Research on Weibo in the Perspective of Communication Science.CNKI.Net. https://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-DACB201002025.htm/

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