Find out about social media age restrictions for Australians under 16. Learn more

Media releases

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

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A provider of three of the World’s most widely used ‘nudify’ services has withdrawn access in Australia following eSafety enforcement action.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

Platforms on notice to comply with Social Media Minimum Age

eSafety has informed Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit of its view they are age-restricted platforms required to comply with Social Media Minimum Age restrictions from December 10.
Industry

eSafety secures removal of video chat service used for child grooming

Tech giants Apple and Google have removed roulette-style video chat service OmeTV from their Australian app stores after eSafety alerted them to how the app was being used by predatory adults to groom and sexually exploit Australian children.
Industry

eSafety requires providers of AI companion chatbots to explain how they are keeping Aussie kids safe

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has issued legal notices to four popular AI companion providers requiring them to explain how they are protecting children from exposure to a range of harms, including sexually explicit conversations and suicidal ideation.
Parents
Young people

New resources for families navigating social media delay

eSafety has launched a comprehensive package of new resources to help parents, carers, educators and young people prepare for social media age restrictions due to take effect on 10 December.
Parents

eSafety statement: removal notices target illegal online material

During September 2025, eSafety received multiple complaints from Australians about extreme graphic footage appearing online.
Kids
Parents

Children and young people at risk from online gore

The proliferation of extreme violent material online has prompted an urgent Online Safety Advisory from eSafety.
Image-based abuse

Court orders $343,500 penalty for posting deepfakes of Australian women

​The Federal Court has ordered Anthony Rotondo (Antonio Rotondo) to pay a $343,500 penalty plus costs, for posting deepfake images of several high-profile Australian women.
Research
Young people

eSafety appoints Stanford University-led academic advisory group to assess the impacts of the Social Media Minimum Age obligation

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has appointed an academic advisory group of eleven distinguished experts led by Stanford University’s Social Media Lab to support an evaluation of the outcomes of the Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) obligation.
Parents
Industry

One-in-three Aussie kids see sexually explicit material including porn online

Almost one-third of Australian children have seen sexually explicit images or videos online, according to new eSafety research.
Industry

Digital platform regulators release working paper on immersive technologies

The Digital Platform Regulators Forum (DP-REG) has published a working paper on immersive technologies, which enable users to experience and interact in three dimensions with digital content.
Industry
Young people

New regulatory guidance released to support social media industry ahead of minimum age law

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has today published regulatory guidance for the online industry, setting out reasonable steps to comply with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age obligation, due to take effect on 10 December.
Industry

Roblox commits to lift game to protect kids from online grooming under Australia's world-leading online safety codes and standards

Roblox has committed to introduce a new suite of safety measures following concerns raised by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner about child grooming risks on the platform and its compliance with Australia’s industry codes and standards.
Industry

New industry codes seek to take on AI chatbots that encourage suicide and engage in sexually explicit conversations with Aussie kids

The eSafety Commissioner has registered new industry-drafted codes which aim to better protect children from a range of harmful and age-inappropriate content, including the clear and present danger posed by mostly unregulated AI-driven companion chatbots.
Industry
Image-based abuse

eSafety moves against services used to 'nudify' Australian school children

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has launched enforcement action against a technology company responsible for AI-generated ‘nudify’ services used to create deepfake pornography of Australian school children.
Industry
Young people

Key steps on the journey to a social media minimum age

eSafety has published summaries of its community consultation as well as a self-assessment tool to help online services determine if they are likely to be an age-restricted social media platform.
Industry

Luck runs out for roulette-style video chat app placing Australian children at risk

A popular roulette-style video chat app that matches strangers, including adults and children is the subject of eSafety’s first enforcement action under Australia’s Industry Codes and Standards.
Industry
Reporting

eSafety clarifies comments on Insiders podcast

eSafety clarifies two items mentioned in a recent ABC Insiders On Background podcast.
Industry

Tech giants are still making minimal efforts to tackle the growing scourge of online child sexual abuse

Global tech giants, including Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft, continue to leave significant gaps in their efforts to combat a range of sexual crimes against children taking place on their services.
Education
Young people

New guides to support First Nations children and families stay safe online

eSafety has launched two new online safety guides co-designed with First Nations children and carers, supporting safe and culturally appropriate conversations about online life.
Industry

Full Federal Court rejects X Corp. appeal

The Full Federal Court has today ruled that X Corp. was required to respond to an eSafety transparency notice seeking information about steps Twitter, Inc. took to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse material on its platform.
Women
Education

$3.5 million for new projects preventing tech-based abuse of women

The eSafety Commissioner has awarded $3.5 million to 10 new projects under the Australian Government’s $10 million Preventing Tech-based Abuse of Women Grants Program.
Industry

eSafety statement regarding industry codes and standards

The Online Safety Act 2021 (the Act) created new obligations for the technology industry to protect Australians, especially children, from seriously harmful online material.
Industry

Latest eSafety research reveals social media use is widespread among kids – and so are the harms

Social media use among Australian children aged 10 to 15 is almost universal and accompanied by high rates of exposure to online harms on a wide range of platforms and services, according to eSafety’s latest research report.
Industry
Parents

eSafety registers three industry codes to protect children from pornography and other age-inappropriate content

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has registered three of the nine codes submitted to eSafety by the online industry, to protect children from exposure to pornography, violent content, and themes of suicide, self-harm and disordered eating.
Image-based abuse
Education

eSafety urges schools to report deepfakes as numbers double

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has issued an urgent call for schools to report deepfake incidents to appropriate authorities as the rapid proliferation of ‘nudify’ apps online takes a growing toll on communities around Australia.
Industry
Education

eSafety Statement correcting mistaken claims re YouTube

YouTube currently employs many of the same features and functionality associated with the harms that the legislation is seeking to address. But under the legislation, educators can continue to incorporate school-approved educational content on YouTube.
Industry

eSafety receives final draft industry codes to protect children from porn and other high-impact content

Associations representing members of Australia’s online industry have submitted to the eSafety Commissioner final draft codes designed to protect children from age-inappropriate content, including pornography.
Research
Young people

Youth support for tracking apps raises red flag for coercive control

Almost one in five young adults think it's reasonable to expect to track a romantic partner whenever they want, new eSafety research shows

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