Australian Regulators Ask Social Media Platforms To Handle Terrorism Content

Australian e-Safety Commission Commissioner Julie Inman Grant (right) (photo: x @YlvaJohansson)

JAKARTA - Australia's e-Safety commission recently sent official letters to well-known social media platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, and Reddit, asking for information regarding their efforts to tackle terrorism content.

The commission is concerned that these platforms will not be active enough to stop extremists from using live streaming, algorithm, and recommendation systems features to recruit new users.

Since 2022, regulators have the right to ask giant tech companies to provide information about the prevalence of illegal content and their steps to prevent the dissemination of the content. Negligence in this case could lead to a large fine.

Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Telegram is the most widely used platform by extremist groups to radicalize and recruit. Dubai-based messaging service ranks first for the frequency of terrorism content according to the 2022 OECD report. Telegram has yet to provide an official response to a request for comment from the media on the allegations.

"We don't know if they have enough resources to respond to this letter, but we'll see," Grant said. "We will not be afraid to act decisively to get the answers we need or impose fines if they are proven to be non-compliant."

Grant also highlighted YouTube, which is in second place. He said the platform "has the power through their advanced algorithms to disseminate propaganda broadly... either openly or smoothly, which can drag users into malicious content."

The e-Safety Commission has previously sent similar letters to social media platforms asking for information regarding the handling of child sexual harassment and hate speech. However, their latest actions in dealing with terrorism are the most complex because of the wide coverage of content and the various methods to strengthen the content.

Elon Musk's company X was first fined by the e-Safety Commission in 2023 for their unsatisfactory response to handling child sexual abuse content. Currently, X is appealing the US$386,000 (Rp 6 billion) fine to court.

The e-Safety Commission for the first time put Telegram and Reddit's online discussion forum into their target in this round of letters sent this Monday. The white supremacist who killed 10 African-Americans in Buffalo, New York in 2022, admitted that the Reddit platform contributed to its radicalization.

Representatives from Reddit, X, and YouTube owner Alphabet have yet to provide official comments. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Meta, Facebook's parent company, stated that they are reviewing notices from commissions and asserted "there is no place on our platform for terrorism, extremism, or any form of promotion of violence and hatred."