Wednesday, 24 July 2024
International Justice Mission (IJM) Australia welcomes move by eSafety Commissioner to hold tech companies to account for tackling online child sexual abuse.
The legal notices require tech companies to explain how they address the child abuse material that is being produced and distributed on their platforms. Companies are required to provide an updated report to the regulator every 6 months over the course of 2 years.
IJM Country Director, Mr David Braga, “We commend the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant’s legal directive that will mandate big tech companies to report and review what they are doing to mitigate online child sexual abuse.”
“We were appalled in 2022, when major platforms disclosed to the Commissioner that there were no proactive measures to detect or disrupt child abuse material in livestreams on their platforms and apps,” said Mr Braga.
“With nearly half a million Filipino children sexually abused to create new child sexual exploitation material for sale to offenders—and many more in other countries—IJM appreciates the Commissioner’s acknowledgement that in our collective battle against online child sexual abuse, every minute counts.
“IJM has been a staunch advocate for greater action by the tech sector, considering Australia is the third largest consumer of child sexual abuse material from the Philippines. These notices are an important step in addressing the growing global and persistent threat of livestreamed child sexual abuse.
“We are hopeful the transparency will hasten tech companies to review not only the content disseminated on their platforms but also the systems which allow for this content distribution,” Mr Braga said.
Big tech companies have until 15 February 2025, to lodge their first response. Failure to comply may result in penalties up to $782,500 a day for no response.
“This directive from the Commissioner is a strong step to enforce duty of care on tech companies when it comes to protecting children online,” Mr Braga said.
Media: Briony Camp [email protected] 0468 308 696
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