The theme for Safer Internet Day this year is particularly meaningful to us here at Google.

From cyberbullying to social networking, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and chooses a topic reflecting current concerns.

This year's theme - "Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with you" - is a call to action for everyone to play their part in creating a better internet for all web users, in particular the youngest out there. More than that, it is an invitation for everyone to join in and engage with others in a respectful way in order to ensure a better digital experience.


This year we invited some of Australia’s most popular YouTubers - Elly Awesome, Slaiman and Kate, Jayden Rodrigues, Jamie and The Scran Line - to talk about the ups and downs of sharing their lives online - and in return we shared some love from their fans!

YouTube has always encouraged you to report content you think is inappropriate. Once you’ve flagged a video, it’s submitted for review to YouTube staff who then carefully look at the content to determine whether there’s a violation of YouTube’s Community Guidelines to see if it should be removed. You can also flag individual comments under any video for abuse or spam.

Perspective uses machine learning to try to measure the impact of a comment, and see whether it might be perceived as toxic.

We are also training machine learning algorithms to proactively identify toxic comments. “Perspective” is an early stage API and can be used to highlight the toxicity of a comment to you while you are writing it which provides an opportunity to reconsider your comment.

In addition to promoting a culture of respect online, we have always believed that you should have the ability to take control of your digital experiences, and have invested in tools and resources to help you do just that.

YouTube encourages viewers to flag content they feel is inappropriate.

We recognise that children may share your home computer or frequently use the apps on your phone, and we have developed Safe Search and Restricted Mode on YouTube to filter out mature results from appearing in searches.


And of course we work closely with organisations such as The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Project Rockit, Kids Helpline and ReachOut to ensure that children and young people are receiving the best advice about being safe and respectful online.

Please take some time, not just today but everyday, to consider how your words and actions can impact others; a better Internet starts with you.

Posted by Samantha Yorke, Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Australia