James Delahunty
1 Mar 2007 6:52
Google Inc.'s popular video sharing site, YouTube has been banned in Government schools in Victoria, Australia's second most populous state. The 1600 schools in the region have blocked YouTube due to an assault on a student that was later uploaded to the video sharing site. Education Services Minister Jacinta Allan said the ban was made to fight cyber-bullying.
The case, which is still being investigated by the police, included a group of male students, who attacked a 17 year old girl and then uploaded the video of the attack to YouTube last year. The attack took place in the outskirts of Melbourne. Allan said the schools and their ISPs already filtered Web sites that were available to students, and YouTube had been added to their list.
"The state government has never tolerated bullying in schools and this zero tolerance approach extends to the online world," Allan said. "All students have the right to learn in a safe and supportive learning environment -- this includes making students' experience of the virtual world of learning as safe and productive as possible."
Source:
CNN