澳13歲以下學生玩臉書將被開除

澳大利亞昆士蘭州一所學校的校長近日在寫給家長的一封信中表示，該校13歲以下學生必須儘快刪除Facebook帳號，如若不然，該學生將會被開除。Facebook規定用戶必須年滿13歲。這位校長在信中說，Facebook上有很多欺凌該校學生或者詆譭學校和老師的內容，所以學校決定出面干涉。信中還附有指導家長舉報孩子違規使用Facebook以及註銷帳號的內容。昆士蘭州的教育官員對此舉表示支持，稱如果學生違規使用科技產品，學校領導應該出面進行監管。同時也有律師質疑學校是否有權力發佈這樣的禁令。

An Australian school head teacher has warned parents she will expel students under 13 who do not delete their Facebook accounts.

The threat, an attempt to curb widespread cyber bullying, was issued in a letter to parents by Leonie Hultgren, the principal of Harlaxton State School in Queensland.

“There has been some considerable Facebook traffic that either bullies a child of this school or in some cases denigrates some staff and the school,” she wrote. “Either of these circumstances warrant the school becoming involved.”

Ms Hultgren included instructions to parents on how to report their children as an underage user or disable the account. Under Facebook guidelines, users must be at least 13 to set up an account.

“We have spent the last five years teaching our students about respect, relationships and resilience,” she wrote. “It may seem insignificant to lie about your age to gain access to a social media site but where does it stop? ... Parents, you are your child's first teachers. What do you want them to learn?”

Ms Hultgren said children frequently lied about their age to set up a Facebook account but any students who did so would be expelled if discovered.

“Parents should understand that a student who contravenes the law or rule in a digital scenario may need to meet with the Principal to discuss this issue and their continued enrolment at Harlaxton," she wrote.

The state’s education officials supported the move, saying school principals should discipline students if they used technology inappropriately, whether during school or outside of school hours.

However, lawyers questioned whether schools had the authority to issue a blanket ban on social media.

"'You won't come to our school if you have a Facebook page seems to me to be extending beyond the realms of the school's ability to dictate what students can and can't do at home," Steven Troeth, a partner at Gadens Lawyers, told Fairfax media.

"But it's understandable that they might want to have some control over it because of the potential to impact on the school."