Australia
MEDIA RELEASE: World Leading Tech Codes Lift Bar on Enforcement and Protection
Friday 15 December 2023
International Justice Mission (IJM) Australia welcomes the commencement of the eSafety Commissioner’s new mandatory tech industry codes to tackle online child sexual abuse material from tomorrow.
From 16 December, the eSafety Commissioner’s new tech industry codes will be enforceable, allowing the Australian regulator to investigate and ensure compliance of these codes through measures including injunctions and fines of almost $700,000 per day for continuing breaches.
“This world-leading tech sector regulation is essential to tackling the growing problem of the online sexual exploitation of children by reducing the availability of child sexual abuse material online,” IJM Australia’s Policy and Campaigns Lead, Briony Camp said.
“Regulation of tech companies to promote accountability in how they address child sexual abuse material on their platforms is an essential step to preventing the online sexual exploitation of children.”
IJM continues to work with the eSafety Commissioner and international law enforcement agencies to protect vulnerable children in the Philippines from online sexual exploitation and abuse by child sex offenders, including in Australia.
“IJM’s recent Scale of Harm study1 showed the scale of this problem in the Philippines alone, revealing 1 in 100 or 500,000 Filipino children were trafficked to produce new child sexual abuse materials in 2022 alone.”
“With Australians consistently ranking among the top consumers of online child sexual abuse material from the Philippines, it is imperative we continue to act to curb online sexual abuse of vulnerable children, including through strengthened tech industry regulation.”
For more information on IJM Australia, visit: www.ijm.org.au
MEDIA: Briony Camp | 0468 308 696 | bcamp@ijm.org.au
1 IJM 2023 Scale of Harm report available here.
