Regulator Tackles Online Abuse in Sports

The government said there is a “worrying trend” of abuse that uses digital technology to harass people playing sports.

Sean O'Dea of Australia (red) competes against Jiuzhen Yao of China in wrestling on day five of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Halls in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 20, 2013. Mark Nolan/Getty Images

Australia’s independent regulator for online safety has launched a new resource to halt online harassment in sports, signalling that the same rules against offline abuse need to be applied online.

Types of online abuse in sports include behaviour that uses digital technology to threaten, intimidate, menace, bully, harass, humiliate, or offend someone.