SoK: Hate, harassment, and the changing landscape of online abuse

Kurt Thomas, Devdatta Akhawe, Michael Bailey, Dan Boneh, Elie Bursztein, Sunny Consolvo, Nicola Dell, Zakir Durumeric, Patrick Gage Kelley, Deepak Kumar, Damon McCoy, Sarah Meiklejohn, Thomas Ristenpart, Gianluca Stringhini

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

We argue that existing security, privacy, and antiabuse protections fail to address the growing threat of online hate and harassment. In order for our community to understand and address this gap, we propose a taxonomy for reasoning about online hate and harassment. Our taxonomy draws on over 150 interdisciplinary research papers that cover disparate threats ranging from intimate partner violence to coordinated mobs. In the process, we identify seven classes of attacks - such as toxic content and surveillance - that each stem from different attacker capabilities and intents. We also provide longitudinal evidence from a three-year survey that hate and harassment is a pervasive, growing experience for online users, particularly for at-risk communities like young adults and people who identify as LGBTQ+. Responding to each class of hate and harassment requires a unique strategy and we highlight five such potential research directions that ultimately empower individuals, communities, and platforms to do so.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings - 2021 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2021
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages247-267
Number of pages21
ISBN (Electronic)9781728189345
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2021
Event42nd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2021 - Virtual, San Francisco, United States
Duration: May 24 2021May 27 2021

Publication series

NameProceedings - IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy
Volume2021-May
ISSN (Print)1081-6011

Conference

Conference42nd IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, SP 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, San Francisco
Period5/24/215/27/21

Keywords

  • At-risk
  • Emerging-threats
  • Harassment
  • Hate

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
  • Software
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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