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While the internet has opened up a wealth of new opportunities, there is no denying that many have been able to use it to cause significant harm. For example, the FBI’s latest Internet Crime Report revealed 791,790 reported internet crime complaints in 2020, a substantial increase over 2019’s numbers. Similarly, the FTC received 4.8 million fraud or identity theft complaints in 2020. But, of course, many online crimes are never reported.
Crime — be it in the form of fraud or child predators — is hardly the only issue facing the internet. The spread of disinformation, hate speech, and extremism also poses genuine threats.
Not surprisingly, governments, tech companies and others are taking increased measures to keep the internet safe for all users. Their response to these ongoing challenges will undoubtedly shape the future of online integrity in 2022 and the years to come.
Current challenges facing the online world
When most people think of online integrity issues, they focus on the aforementioned problems like fraud and identity theft. These are certainly no small matter. From fake social media accounts being used to steal information to scam emails and malware, there are many tools that bad actors are using to steal private information.
However, harmful content has become even more widespread in the last few years. In the United States, this can be most easily seen in the disinformation…
