After their lives are overturned by vicious online harassment, http://www.NetizensFilm.com NETIZENS follows three women as they confront the Internet’s wild west. This timely 96-minute documentary features prominent Brooklyn attorney Carrie Goldberg and author of Nobody’s Victim, who was the target of ‘revenge porn;’ Anita Sarkeesian, founder of Feminist Frequency and subject of the ‘Gamergate’ attacks; and Tina Reine, a businesswoman whose career is destroyed by reputation-harming websites created by an ex-boyfriend. With Soraya Chemaly, Danielle Citron, Mary Anne Franks and Jamia Wilson.
NETIZENS is directed by Cynthia Lowen, the producer/writer of the documentary BULLY, and catalyzed a national movement to stop bullying. Over 5 million students in America watched BULLY with their educators and used the free of cost materials created by Ms. Lowen and the Bully impact team. As a result, the film was effective in shifting bullying from being seen as a “normal” right of passage, to being something all schools and communities now know they must respond to.
With this follow-up film, Lowen tackles the scourge of internet harassment, including ‘revenge porn,’ cyber-stalking, threats of violence, privacy invasions, impersonation and hacking. While law enforcement and tech companies lag far behind the crimes, NETIZENS bears witness as the film’s subjects seek justice on their own terms.
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month: During the month of October, ‘Netizens’ is highlighting the profound connection between intimate partner violence and digital abuse. Domestic and dating violence is a huge dimension of ‘revenge porn,’ cyber-stalking, hacking and privacy violations, online impersonation, coercion, threats and humiliation. ‘Netizens’ speaks directly to digital abuse stemming from intimate partners, and shines a critical light on why law enforcement and DV advocates must be equipped to effectively respond to these forms of abuse.
The Wide Release: NETIZENS will be in wide release starting on October 22nd, 2019, and will be available for streaming rentals and purchases on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play and Xbox. DVDs can be purchased from Amazon. It’s currently available for pre-order from Apple TV here: https://apple.co/2m2K84V
One in 25 Americans has been threatened with or faced a vicious form of digital harassment in which explicit images are shared online without the subject’s consent, according to a report released by think tank Data & Society and the Center for Innovative Public Health Research.
The film’s website also offers a robust suite of tools, resources and discussion guides to equip audiences to protect themselves and prevent harassment. http://www.NetizensFilm.com
Cynthia Lowen’s Tips for Being Smart and Staying Safe Online:
1) Use strong passwords and password generator/keeper
2) Use multi-factor authentication
3) Manage your location data on apps
4) Manage the privacy settings on your social media accounts
5) Google yourself! (And remove your address if you find it posted on ‘people-finder’ sites