Warners Bay based app and web design company File.03 – friends Liam Christenson, 30, Jayson Evans, 27, and Mark Hughes, 24 – has created a new automatic filter application called Bloq, which allows Facebook users to prevent people not on their friends list from sending abusive messages, pictures or repeated unwanted contact to their inbox.

‘‘Cyberbullying is a plague that we’re trying to stop before it happens,’’ Mr Christenson said.

‘‘People say ‘Just delete and block the sender’, but what if the sender just sets up another account or you’re getting lots of horrible messages?

‘‘Our message to people who try to bully people with Bloq is that there’s just no point.

‘‘It’s not even going to be seen by them – you’re barking up the wrong tree.’’

Internet users wanting to eliminate unwanted contact just need to set up a Bloq account and then press one button to link it to their Facebook account.

Parents can also set up a Bloq account and link it to their child’s Facebook page, with their child’s permission.

Any messages from people a Bloq user does not know are then diverted to a server in Florida.

This includes pictures, repeated contact without a response – for example, saying ‘‘hi’’ over and over – and messages that have been identified as containing abusive words or phrases.

Bloq users can even set up a message to be sent automatically to their would-be abusers. File.03 is also working on a feature that will ensure any bully who tries to contact five Bloq users will then be blacklisted and prevented from sending a message to anyone using Bloq, even if they are Facebook friends.

Mr Christenson said when he came up with the idea just 10 weeks ago, he was sure it must have already been developed.

He has always been staunchly against bullying, after he was bullied following his move from Wilcannia as a nine-year-old.

As a mentor working with Allambi Youth Services, he worked with both bullying and bullied youngsters who had grown up echoing the ‘‘controlling behaviour of their poor role models’’.

Then his friend in the United States shared with him the hundreds of ‘‘horrific’’ Facebook inbox messages she was receiving from people she didn’t know.

‘‘For me, a bully had always been someone I could put a face or name to, I could prepare myself,’’ Mr Christenson said.

‘‘But kids growing up now, social media is part of their social development and they are dealing with people sitting behind their computer who can say whatever they want and know there’s not going to be any immediate repercussions.

‘‘I thought ‘Surely there’s something we can do to stop this’.

‘‘The goal is for bullies in the future to think ‘‘They’ve probably got Bloq, there’s no point, I’ll use my time elsewhere and if I’m feeling angry or out of control, I’ll talk to someone and get help’.’’

The state government’s School A to Z website for parents said ‘‘about 10per cent of children report they are being cyberbullied, and that increases proportionately with age and access to mobile phones and social media sites’’.

‘‘Kids who may never bully face to face will do it online because it’s hidden,’’ the website said.

‘‘Even the kindest, most passive child can inadvertently contribute to cyberbullying by forwarding on a humiliating, abusive or confidential message.

‘‘Each day in Australia 100,000 children report they are bullied at lunchtime or recess.

‘‘While that number includes all kinds of bullying, we also know that 80per cent of the children who are cyberbullied are also face-to-face bullied.’’

Bloq is available for a monthly fee of $4, which includes a $1 donation to a yet-to-be-confirmed Hunter charity. 

Details at www.esafety.gov.au

Kids Help Line  1800551800. 

Lifeline   131114

Originally published as Filter stops cyberbullies by Newcastle Herald.