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Media releases

Industry

eSafety secures court-enforceable undertaking from Roblox to do more to protect Australian kids from grooming and sexual exploitation

Australia’s online safety regulator has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from gaming giant Roblox to put in place robust measures designed to protect children from grooming, sexual exploitation and abuse.
Research
Young people

​From homework to heartache: why children are turning to AI

Artificial intelligence is becoming a normal part of growing up, with new eSafety research showing almost four in five Australian children aged 10 to 17 have used an AI assistant.
Research
Industry

Early insights from eSafety’s comprehensive evaluation project

eSafety has today published ‘Early days, early insights: Understanding experiences of social media age restrictions at the three-month follow-up’.
Industry

eSafety commences civil penalty proceedings against Telegram over alleged failings to tackle terror

eSafety has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against the provider of the Telegram messaging service, for its alleged failure to detect and remove pro-terror material from the platform.
Advisory
Education

School photo posts vulnerable to emerging AI threat

The rapid evolution, deployment and accessibility of AI tools, has significantly escalated safety risks associated with sharing photos and videos online – particularly for school communities, eSafety has warned.
Research
Parents

Healthy digital habits start early, new eSafety research shows

Parents and carers are helping children build safe and healthy digital habits long before most have their first smartphone or social media account, new eSafety research shows.
Industry

eSafety report reveals Big Tech blind spots in protecting children and young adults from sexual extortion

A new transparency report released by eSafety reveals significant gaps in how major online platforms are tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse, in particular the growing issue of sexual extortion
Industry

Another three ‘nudifying’ services go dark in Australia as regulatory pressure mounts over child safety concerns

Three more AI powered “nudifying” services widely used by Australians have withdrawn their services from the country after eSafety took enforcement action under world leading Age-Restricted Material codes.
Image-based abuse
Young people

Swipe right for sextortion: eSafety unmasks ‘sexy’ scam artists

A seemingly harmless flirtation on a dating or social media app could be the first step in a scam designed to elicit nudes.
Industry
Reporting

X Corp penalised after failing to fully comply with transparency notice about child sexual exploitation material

The Federal Court has ordered by consent that X Corp. pay a civil penalty of $650,000 after it failed to fully comply with an eSafety transparency notice seeking information about steps it took to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse material.
Image-based abuse
Industry

eSafety takes action against another major ‘nudify’ service for failing to protect Australian children

eSafety has begun enforcement action against another popular AI-powered ‘nudifying’ service for not doing enough to protect children from exposure to sexually explicit deepfake images, including those of real people.
Young people
Kids

National leaders unite to tackle online harm in Australian sport

In response to the growing threat of online abuse and digital harm in sport, leaders from the sport, law enforcement and technology sectors gathered today for an inaugural Online Safety in Sport Summit.
Parents
Young people

eSafety and OAIC working together to protect privacy and safety for all Australians

eSafety and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) will work together under a new agreement to jointly ensure Australians’ privacy and safety online.
Industry
Young people

eSafety asks gaming giants what they are doing to prevent grooming and radicalisation

eSafety has given legally enforceable transparency notices to Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and Steam amid concerns online games are being used by sexual predators to groom children and by extremist groups to radicalise young people.
Industry
Parents

Five social media platforms flagged for compliance issues

eSafety has significant concerns about the compliance of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) obligation and is continuing to gather evidence necessary to inform potential enforcement action.
Industry
Young people

eSafety report shows AI companions are putting children at risk

Popular AI companion chatbots are failing to protect Australian children from exposure to sexually explicit content and not doing enough to prevent users generating child sexual exploitation and abuse material, according to eSafety’s latest report.
Parents
Education

Manosphere to man: how talking helps boys resist bad influencers

Regular, real-world conversations with boys and young men are key to helping them handle extreme, potentially harmful messages they may be encountering online from a network of popular spaces and personalities known as the ‘manosphere’.
Industry

Online safety codes introduce real-world protections for children online

Australia’s Age-Restricted Material Codes will introduce common-sense measures similar to those that have protected children in the physical world for generations.
Reporting
Reporting

eSafety statement on Baumgarten matter

eSafety acknowledges the Full Federal Court’s judgment in the matter of eSafety Commissioner v Baumgarten.
Young people

eSafety begins evaluation of Australia’s world-first social media minimum age

eSafety has commenced a comprehensive evaluation of Australia’s world-first social media minimum age to understand how the new obligation on platforms is working in practice — and what impact it is having on children, young people and families.
Industry
Parents

Roblox on notice over ongoing concerns about online child grooming

eSafety has notified Roblox of its intention to directly test the platform’s implementation and effectiveness of the nine safety commitments it made to last year, amid growing concerns about online child grooming and sexual exploitation.
Young people
Education

Share advice with your younger self on Safer Internet Day

Young people have joined eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant and the Minister for Communications Anika Wells and advocates in the youth, online safety and mental health sectors to reveal what they wished they knew before they turned 16.
Industry

eSafety report shows while tech giants have made some progress they still have a long way to go in stamping out online child sexual abuse

Tech giants, including Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft, are still failing to address critical safety gaps in detecting and preventing child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) on their services despite some improvements, according to a new report.
Industry
Parents

Platforms restrict access to 4.7 million under-16 accounts across Australia

Major social media companies removed access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children under 16 in the first half of December to comply with Australia’s social media minimum age, according to initial figures gathered by eSafety.
Industry
Image-based abuse

eSafety raises concerns about misuse of Grok to generate sexualised content

eSafety is monitoring a recent increase in reports about the misuse of the generative AI system Grok on X to create sexualised or exploitative imagery, including content involving children.
Young people
Parents

New resources to help First Nations communities stay well connected during social media delay

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant is encouraging First Nations families to visit eSafety.gov.au to access tailored resources designed to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teenagers stay connected.
Young people
Parents

​Helping hand for regional families navigating social media delay

​eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant is calling on parents, carers and young people in regional and rural communities visit eSafety.gov.au and access resources designed to help them handle social media age restrictions, which are now in effect.
Industry

Australia makes history with the social media minimum age

eSafety will begin monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Australian Government’s social media minimum age from today, supporting parents and providing a crucial buffer for under-16s developing digital literacy and resilience.
Industry

eSafety publishes guidance ahead of new codes coming into force to protect Australian kids from harmful content

eSafety has published regulatory guidance ahead of the commencement of new industry codes requiring online services to protect children from exposure to age-inappropriate content like pornography, high-impact violence.
Industry

Australia and Ireland deepen international cooperation on online harms

The eSafety Commissioner has signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán to strengthen international cooperation on online safety and platform accountability.
Domestic violence

Design failures make smart cars a new weapon for violent partners

eSafety is urging Australians to understand how smart car features can be misused to monitor, track and intimidate women experiencing domestic and family violence.
Industry
Parents

eSafety action prevents services 'nudifying’ Australian school children

A provider of three of the World’s most widely used ‘nudify’ services has withdrawn access in Australia following eSafety enforcement action.
Parents
Young people

Helping parents set the ‘new normal’ for social media

eSafety’s Parent Advisory Group held its first meeting today, bringing together a diverse range of parenting communities to help inform families and support digital literacy as Australia implements its world-leading Social Media Minimum age (SMMA).
Industry
Parents

Twitch assessed as age-restricted social media platform

eSafety has informed Twitch it is considered an age-restricted social media platform required to take reasonable steps to prevent under 16s from having accounts, in accordance with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age legislation.
Industry

Telegram discontinues its Federal Court challenge to eSafety reporting notice

eSafety welcomes Telegram’s decision to discontinue its challenge to the validity of a reporting notice that sought information about their compliance with basic online safety expectations.
Industry
Young people

eSafety joins forces with the European Commission’s DG CNECT and the UK’s Ofcom to strengthen global cooperation on child online safety

The three regulators are committed to promoting and protecting the rights of children in the digital environment.

eSafety acknowledges all First Nations people for their continuing care of everything Country encompasses — land, waters and community. We pay our respects to First Nations people, and to Elders past and present.

First Nations people should be aware that this website may contain images and voices of people who have died.

Find information and resources for First Nations people.

Read our Reconciliation Action Plan.

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