Athletes are at increased risk of online abuse as AI on social media grows

Feature article

By Dr Betul Sekendiz, Associate Dean (Scholarship)

Introduction

Social media is big business in the sport industry. Focused on visual content generation, Instagram is one of the most preferred platforms by marketers for exposure and lead generation. For example, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, with half a billion followers, was reported to generate 3.5 million US dollars value per post on Instagram at 2022 World Cup [1].

Athletes are public figures and they have been increasingly using social media to engage with their supporters, grow fan loyalty and build their brand. Most professional athletes have sponsorship contracts that require social media promotions as part of such agreements.

Risk of online abuse on social media

Despite the important role social media plays in the sporting industry, it can expose athletes to online abuse risks when used by individuals as a platform to post comments, images, memes or videos to threaten, intimidate, bully, harass or humiliate [2]. As posts on social media can go viral rapidly, abusive activities online can cause severe psychological and physical harm to the victim and bring individuals and organisations to disrepute.

The term ‘cyberbullying’ is a form of bullying, which impacts mostly young people with protected characteristics of race, religion, sexuality, gender identity and disability [3].

In September 2020, a survey of 627 teenagers in Australia from ages 12 to 17 reported they spent on average 14.4 hours per week online and 44% had a negative online experience in the last six months [4].

In this vein, a systematic review of cyberbullying affecting adolescents and children found the prevalence rate of cyberbullying increased significantly ranging from 6% to 46% during the analysed five-year period between 2015 – 2019 [5].

The review identified verbal violence (e.g. verbal offensive responses, insults, mocking, threats, slander, and harassment) was one of the most common acts of cyberbullying.

Personal factors, such as gender, frequent use of social media platforms, mental illness (e.g. depression, suicidal tendencies, borderline personality disorder, and eating disorders) and sleep deprivation were generally considered to be related to becoming a cyberbullying victim.

World Athletics conducted a study to investigate online abuse impacting athletes during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games [6].

A sample of 161 X (then called Twitter) handles of current and former athletes in the Tokyo Olympics between 15 July – 9 August 2021 were analysed [7].

The study revealed 132 abusive posts from 119 authors more than half of which was sexist and racist in nature (55%) and targeted mostly women (70%).

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Online abuse in social media is often committed by people who hide their identity or use fake social media profiles. More recently, the prevalence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools has resulted in a surge of maliciously intended social media bots that share harmful content or provide harmful responses to user inputs through fake profiles [8].

Unfortunately, bot detection is extremely difficult and almost impossible to ascertain real-time that a social media account is a bot unless it has been suspended [9].

Online abuse or cyberbullying created by AI can be extremely harmful for individuals and the society, as it can rapidly amplify and as a result can be more powerful and harmful than abuse or bullying from someone the person knows in real life.

Regulation of online safety in Australia

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) is a world first independent regulator for online safety in Australia.

eSafety aims to help Australians have safer, more positive online experiences in accordance with the Online Safety Act 2021. eSafety administers regulatory schemes, mandatory industry codes, the Basic Online Safety Expectations, educational and promotional content, and programs relevant to online safety.

In 2023, eSafety and Play by the Rules signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve online safety in sport from grassroots to professional level by raising awareness and providing timely support and advice to athletes, staff, volunteers, and officials [10].

In order to keep up to date with the rapidly evolving online environment, the Government has committed to review the Online Safety Act 2021 in 2024, earlier than the statutory requirement [11].

The review will consider a range of matters such as the appropriateness, operation and effectiveness of the statutory schemes in the Act including the need for additional arrangements to address online harms caused by malicious use of generative AI.

Risk management strategies

Sporting organisations have a legal and ethical duty to protect athletes from physical or psychological risks of harm associated with their roles both on and off the field.

In order to reduce the risk of online abuse incidents, sporting organisations need to be proactive and ensure to include online safety risks in their risk assessments supported with a multi-pronged social media policy.

The policy needs to clearly outline acceptable and appropriate social media use both during work and outside work hours [12], as well as the consequences and protections available when an alleged or observed breach of the policy occurs.

Sporting organisations also need to allocate time and resources into educating their staff, athletes, fans and other stakeholders to increase understanding of the social media policy [13].

The high profile legal dispute that was settled between Rugby Australia and Israel Folau demonstrated the importance of sporting organisations having clear social media policies in place and providing training to players in the acceptable use of social media to protect themselves and the society from unintended harms [14].

• For inquiries about this article, please contact [email protected].

Dr Betul Sekendiz, ICMS Associate Dean (Scholarship)

References

[1] Smith, E. (September 20, 2022). Cristiano Ronaldo named most powerful player on Instagram at 2022 World Cup. BBC Sport. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62907419

[2] Safe Work Australia. (2021). Online abuse factsheet for workers. Safe Work Australia. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/online-abuse-factsheet-workers

[3] eSafety Commissioner. (2023). Cyberbullying. eSafety Commissioner. https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-topics/cyberbullying

[4] eSafety Commissioner. (February, 2021). The digital lives of Aussies. eSafety Commissioner. https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-02/The%20digital%20lives%20of%20Aussie%20teens.pdf

[5] Zhu, C., Huang, S., Evans, R., & Zhang, W. (2021). Cyberbullying Among Adolescents and Children: A Comprehensive Review of the Global Situation, Risk Factors, and Preventive Measures. Frontiers in public health, 9, 634909. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.634909

[6] World Athletics. (November 25, 2021). World Athletics publishes online abuse study covering Tokyo Olympic Games. https://worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/online-abuse-study-athletes-tokyo-olympic-games?0=

[7] Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[8] eSafety Commissioner. (2023). Tech Trends Position Statement – Generative AI. eSafety Commissioner. https://www.esafety.gov.au/industry/tech-trends-and-challenges/generative-ai

[9] Beatson, O., Gibson, R., Cunill, M. C., & Elliot, M. (2023). Automation on Twitter: Measuring the Effectiveness of Approaches to Bot Detection. Social Science Computer Review, 41(1), 181-200. https://doi.org/10.1177/08944393211034991

[10] Play by the Rules. (2023). MoU announcement between eSafety and Play by the Rules. https://www.playbytherules.net.au/resources/articles/mou-announcement-between-esafety-and-play-by-the-rules

[11] Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. (2024). Terms of Reference – Statutory Review of the Online Safety Act 2021. https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/tor-statutory-review-online-safety-act-2021-8Feb.pdf

[12] Pearson v Linfox Australia Pty Ltd [2014] FWC 446

[13] Play by the Rules. (n.d.). Social media policy. Play by the Rules. https://www.playbytherules.net.au/resources/templates/social-media-policy

[14] ABC News. (December 5, 2019). Rugby Australia and Israel Folau settle legal dispute over sacking. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-04/rugby-australia-israel-folau-mediation-settlement/11765866