Australian Regulators Ask Tech Companies To Share Their Strategy In Facing Child Abuse Materials

Australian regulators have asked technology companies to deal with child molestation more seriously. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - Australian regulators sent legal letters to Facebook owners Meta Platforms, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp demanding they share their respective strategies to remove child abuse material on their platforms or face fines.

E-Safety Commissioner, an agency formed to protect internet users, said it used a law that came into effect in January to force tech giants to reveal the steps they took to detect and remove abuse material within 28 days. Otherwise, each company will face a fine of US$555,000 (IDR 5.6 billion) per day.

The threat underscores Australia's hardline approach to regulating major technology companies since 2021 which so far include laws forcing them to pay the media to display their content and the law has forced them to submit details of anonymous accounts posting defamatory material.

Meanwhile, internet companies are under pressure around the world to find ways to monitor encrypted messages and streaming services for child abuse material without violating user privacy.

"This activity is no longer limited to hidden corners of the dark web but is common on the mainstream platform that we and our children use every day," Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement.

"More and more companies are moving towards encrypted messaging services and implementing features such as live streaming, it is feared that this horrific material will spread uncontrollably on this platform," he added.

A Microsoft spokesperson, who has a Skype video calling service, said the company had received the letter and plans to respond within 28 days.

A Meta spokesperson, who also has a WhatsApp messaging service, said the company was still reviewing the letter but continued to "proactively engage with eSafety Commissioners on these important issues".

Apple, which has a FaceTime video messaging service, iMessage messaging service, and iCloud photo storage service, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from Reuters.

The eSafety commissioner referred to figures provided by the US National Central Committee for Missing & Exploited Children, which said this year had received 29.1 million reports of child abuse material from internet companies, of which only 160 from Apple while 22 million came from Facebook.