Tech giants are failing to adequately detect and prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse, despite some incremental improvements, according to a recent transparency report released by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner.
The report, the second in a four-part series under the Basic Online Safety Expectations framework, examines how major platforms are responding to the most serious forms of online harm, including child sexual abuse material, livestreamed abuse, online grooming and sexual extortion
Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft are among eight companies issued with legally enforceable transparency notices in July 2024 under the Online Safety Act.
The notices required detailed responses on how platforms identify, prevent and remove child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) across their services. The other companies assessed were Discord, Skype, Snap and WhatsApp.
While the eSafety Commissioner found evidence of progress in some areas, the report highlights persistent and significant safety gaps across widely used platforms.
Key risks include inadequate detection of live-streamed child sexual abuse through video calling services, limited proactive identification of newly created abuse material, and the underuse of language analysis tools to detect sexual extortion.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the findings were concerning, given the scale and seriousness of the harm.
“There have been some welcome improvements, but it is disappointing to see some companies still not putting measures in place to detect and remove new child sexual abuse material,” said Grant
“Others are still not using or developing tools and technology to detect live child sexual abuse taking place over popular video calling services,” she said.
Following the release of the eSafety Commissioner’s latest Basic Online Safety Expectations transparency report, UNICEF Australia’s Head of Digital Policy, John Livingstone, responds.
According to UNICEF Australia, the report exposed worrying and persistent gaps in how technology companies are addressing the most extreme forms of online harm.
John Livingstone, Head of Digital Policy at UNICEF Australia, says many companies already can do more to protect children but are failing to apply safeguards consistently.
“This latest eSafety report underscores worrying and persistent gaps in how tech companies are tackling the worst online content that exists, including child sexual exploitation and AI-generated sexualised images like deepfakes.”
“Many tech companies have the tools to better protect children online, but what we currently have is a patchwork of effort,” said Livingstone
“Instead, what we need is consistency. UNICEF knows from our work around the world that people who intend to harm children will exploit inconsistency wherever they find it.”
“Protecting children from online sexual exploitation and abuse should be built in from the start through safety-by-design approaches and robust guardrails to prevent misuse.”
“Top of the list is legislating a new duty of care on tech platforms in Australia, to ensure safety from the start.” he said.
He also pointed to the growing role of artificial intelligence, warning that while AI is creating new risks for children, it could also be part of the solution.
“Used responsibly, generative AI can be put to work to detect and remove abuse and deepfakes at scale,” Livingstone said. “That’s how Australia can become the safest place in the world for children to go online.”
Further eSafety transparency reports are expected to be released later this year, with findings likely to inform future regulatory and enforcement action.
