Australia demands anti-abuse measures from Apple, Microsoft, and Meta and threatens sanctions.
Sydney Australian regulators sent legal letters to Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook (NASDAQ:META), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), requiring them to disclose their strategy for removing child abuse content from their platforms or face fines.
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The e-Safety Commissioner, an organisation created to safeguard internet users, stated that it utilised rules that went into force in January to require technology firms to report within 28 days the steps they were taking to detect and delete abusive content. If they did not comply, each company would be fined A$555,000 ($383,000) every day.
The threat underscores Australia’s strong stance on regulating Big Tech companies since 2021, which has included legislation requiring them to pay media outlets for showing their content and rules requiring them to pass over data from anonymous users who publish defamatory content.
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Internet companies all over the world have been put under pressure to find a way to check encrypted messaging and streaming services for content that is harmful to children without invading the privacy of users.
In a statement, Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said, “This behaviour is no longer limited to hidden parts of the dark web; it is widespread on the popular platforms that we and our kids use every day.”
“As more companies use encrypted messaging services and add livestreaming features, there is a risk that this awful content will spread unchecked on these platforms,” she said.
The letter was sent to Microsoft, which owns the video calling service Skype. A Microsoft spokesperson said that Microsoft has received the letter and plans to respond in 28 days.
A representative for Meta, which also owns the messaging app WhatsApp, stated that the company was currently examining the letter but continues to “work extensively with the eSafety Commissioner on these vital topics.”
Apple, which controls the FaceTime video chatting service, the iMessage messaging service, and the iCloud photo storage service, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
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The eSafety Commissioner used data from the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which said that it had received 29.1 million reports of child abuse material from internet businesses this year, of which only 160 were from Apple and 22 million were from Facebook.
