Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has expressed serious concerns regarding major social media companies, notably YouTube, for their lack of response to online child sexual abuse material. In a recent report, it was revealed that YouTube and Apple have not been tracking the number of user reports related to such abusive content, nor have they provided information on their response times to these reports.
Last week, the Australian government decided to impose a social media ban on teenagers that will now include YouTube, counter to previous exemptions sought by the platform, following recommendations from the eSafety Commissioner. Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety Commissioner, indicated that these companies are neglecting their duty to protect children online. She commented that no other industry would be allowed to operate if they enabled such serious crimes against minors on their platforms.
Google maintains that abusive material is strictly against its policies and claims to employ various methods to detect and eliminate such content. Similarly, Meta, which oversees Facebook and Instagram, asserts that it prohibits explicit content on its networks.
The eSafety Commissioner has mandated several major tech firms, including Google, Meta, Apple, and others, to disclose measures they are taking against child exploitation and abuse materials within Australia. However, the report highlights significant safety deficiencies in their systems, which increase the risk of child sexual exploitation occurring on their platforms. Specific shortcomings noted include inadequate detection of livestreaming abuse materials, insufficient preventative measures against links to known abuse content, and reporting mechanisms that fail to function properly.
The review also found that not all platforms are employing “hash-matching” technology effectively to identify child sexual abuse imagery, which is crucial for prevention. Despite previous warnings, some service providers have failed to rectify these safety issues.
Inman Grant pointed out that companies like Apple and Google were unresponsive to inquiries about the volume of reports they received relating to child abuse content, raising further alarms about their commitment to user safety. The regulator’s report underscores a troubling reality where social media giants are not sufficiently prioritising the protection of children on their platforms.