X Fined Heavily by Australia for Failing to Report Child Abuse Content
The Australian eSafety Commissioner has taken a major step towards combating online child sexual exploitation by imposing a penalty on X, a well-known microblogging platform supported by Elon Musk. X has been instructed to pay a fine of $610,500 AUD (approximately $384,000 USD) for its failure to furnish crucial details concerning the identification, elimination, and prevention of child sexual abuse content. Furthermore, Google has received an official caution from authorities for a comparable lack of disclosure.
A call to responsibility in the digital age
Julie Inman Grant, eSafety Commissioner, has highlighted the growing problem of child sexual abuse online in Australia and worldwide. He emphasized the moral obligation of tech companies to protect children from such exploitation on their platforms. Grant has urged organizations to take concrete action beyond mere public statements, including X, which has declared its commitment to combating child sexual abuse a top priority, The New York Times reported.
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Penalties and warnings issued
X now has 28 days to respond to the eSafety Office’s warning or pay the imposed fine. Commissioner Grant cited a recent investigation that revealed flaws in the approaches to child sexual abuse by several Internet companies, including Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Skype, Snap, WhatsApp and Omegle. The study highlighted inconsistencies in how Twitter ( X ) and Google handle and combat sexual harassment online.
An eSafety survey revealed that both Google and Twitter ( X ) had ignored notices submitted to them and provided inadequate responses to certain queries. Google received a formal warning about its generic responses and data collection. It was found that Google did not use enough of its technologies to identify known child sexual abuse content on its platforms.
X faced even more serious charges of non-compliance because several sections of its response were completely blank and did not answer certain critical questions. The company’s recent acquisition and subsequent staff cuts in October 2022 appeared to hinder its ability to effectively respond to safety and general staffing concerns.
Grant reiterated the need for practical measures to address the sexual exploitation of children in the interests of businesses. Interestingly, Discord cited cost as a barrier to detecting child sexual abuse in streaming, which separates it from platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Twitch.
