UNICEF Australia welcomes new steps by the eSafety Commissioner to hold technology companies to account for what they are doing to end the scourge of online harms, including child sexual abuse and sexual extortion, in a bid to make the online world a safer place for young people.
The Commissioner today issued legal notices to tech giants – including Apple and Google – that will require them to report to eSafety every six months on the measures they have put in place to tackle issues on their platforms such as online child sexual abuse, live-streamed abuse, online grooming, sexual extortion and falsified child abuse material created using generative AI.
Quotes attributable to John Livingstone, UNICEF Australia’s Digital Policy Lead:
- “UNICEF Australia welcomes new steps taken by the eSafety Commissioner to help protect children online, by holding big tech companies to account for what they are doing to tackle serious online harms such as child sexual abuse and online grooming.
- “We all have a role to play in protecting young people online. That includes ensuring that tech companies take responsibility and provide information to the eSafety Commissioner on the steps they are taking to protect the most vulnerable.
- “Fundamentally, the online world must be a safe environment for young people to explore, connect and learn. UNICEF Australia wants Australia to be the safest place in the world for children to connect to the internet.
- “We continue to call for stronger protections in the Online Safety Act to ensure it provides the highest possible level of protection for children.”