Key points
- Apple and YouTube don’t track report numbers or response times
- Tech firms lack proactive tools to detect child abuse material
- Australia to ban under-16s on social media by end of 2025
SYDNEY, Australia: Australia’s online watchdog accused tech giants including Apple and Google on Wednesday of “turning a blind eye” to child sex abuse material shared on their platforms.
The eSafety Commission found that Apple and video streaming site YouTube — owned by Google — did not track the number of user reports they received about child sexual abuse, nor did they outline how long it took to respond to these reports, according to AFP.
“When left to their own devices, these companies aren’t prioritising the protection of children and are seemingly turning a blind eye to crimes occurring on their services,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said, according to AFP.
License to operate
She added that tech companies had not “taken many steps to lift and improve their efforts” since she asked them three years ago.
When left to their own devices, these companies aren’t prioritising the protection of children and are seemingly turning a blind eye to crimes occurring on their services.” – eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant
“No other consumer-facing industry would be given the licence to operate by enabling such heinous crimes against children on their premises, or services.”
Child sex abuse material
The report also found companies including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Skype did not use tools to proactively detect child sex abuse material.
Tech companies are required to report to the commission every six months on how they are tackling child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated images.
READ ALSO: Social Media Worsening Mental Health Crisis Among Children
Inman Grant said she hoped she would see “meaningful progress”.
A Google spokesperson said the commission’s findings were “rooted in reporting metrics, not online safety performance”.
“Robust automated systems”
“Child safety is critical to us. We’ve led the industry fight against child sexual abuse material since day one, investing heavily in advanced technology to proactively find and remove this harmful content,” the spokesperson said.
More than 90 per cent of all child sexual abuse content on YouTube was removed by YouTube’s “robust automated systems” before it was flagged or viewed by users, the spokesperson added.
Australia last year unveiled landmark laws that will ban under-16s from social media by the end of 2025.
The government had previously indicated YouTube would be exempt, given its widespread use in classrooms.
But last week it announced the video-streaming site, one of the most visited websites in the world, would also be included in the ban.
READ ALSO: Australia Adds YouTube to Teen Social Media Ban, Scraps Earlier Exemption
Firms face fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$32 million) for failing to comply.
Officials are yet to solve basic questions surrounding the laws, such as how the ban will be policed, according to AFP.
