eSafety Commissioner’s Post

The Federal Court today granted a further interim injunction requiring X Corp to immediately hide Class 1 material on X that was subject to eSafety’s removal notice of 16 April, 2024. This will remain in effect until 5pm on 10 May, 2024. A further court hearing is due to take place at 10:30am on 10 May 2024. In summary, eSafety’s removal notice to X Corp required it to take all reasonable steps to ensure the removal of the extreme violent video material of the alleged terrorist act at Wakeley in Sydney on 15 April. The removal notice identified specific URLs where the material was located. Under the Online Safety Act, the Court is empowered to impose a civil penalty for non-compliance with a removal notice. The maximum penalty for a body corporate is $782,500 for each day the non-compliance occurs. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gsrqgHPb

Yesterday the Federal Court granted an interim injunction compelling X Corp to hide Class 1 material on X that was the subject of eSafety’s removal notice of 16 April, 2024. In summary, eSafety’s removal notice to X Corp required it to take all reasonable steps to ensure the removal of the extreme violent video content of the alleged terrorist act at Wakeley in Sydney on 15 April. The removal notice identified specific URLs where the material was located. X Corp has 24 hours to comply with the Court’s interim order, beginning from the time the court issued the interim injunction order on Monday evening. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gKaS6C4T

This week, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman - Grant addressed the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of 15 dedicated law enforcement agencies working together to tackle child sexual abuse. Joining forces across agencies and across borders enables meaningful action to protect children online, no matter where they are in the world 🌏

We're thrilled to see the eSafety Youth Council Think Tank kick off its first day, marking the grand finale for our current cohort! 👏   The eSafety Youth Council is a vibrant mix of young voices from across Australia, bringing diverse perspectives and experiences to the table, shaping policies and programs for a safer, more positive online world.   Today's highlights include:   💡 A warm welcome from Jason Clare MP, Minister for Education, followed by an engaging Q&A with eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman - Grant.   📱 The discussions revolved around reimagining online safety education and diving into future tech trends in immersive technology.   🥳 As the day wrapped up, the team took a moment to reflect on all the amazing insights explored over the day and took part in some team bonding fun!

We are continuing to monitor the situation with regards to extreme violent videos and imagery that have been posted online. We work closely with online platforms to quickly remove this material, and expect services to ensure that their terms of service are expeditiously enforced to protect Australians. If you see violent, distressing or harmful material: 1️⃣ Don't share it further – even if your intention is to help or raise awareness, you may cause distress to others. 2️⃣ Report it to the platform to help get the material removed quickly. 3️⃣ If the material is not removed, or if it's seriously harmful, you can report it to eSafety: eSafety.gov.au/report eSafety can notify the platform to either remove the content or block access from within Australia. Your actions could protect you and others from seeing that content again. Find more guidance and information at: https://lnkd.in/gAw_mtWf

Since Saturday, we’ve scaled up our operations and are working across government to respond to the spike in harmful and distressing material circulating online. This includes content that depicts gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail. ⚠ We’re working closely with platforms, especially social media platforms, to quickly remove this material and remind them of our expectation that terms of service are expeditiously enforced to protect Australians. While the majority of mainstream social media platforms have engaged with us, eSafety is not satisfied that enough is being done. That is why we are issuing legal notices to X and Meta under the Online Safety Act, compelling them to remove it. Further notices are likely follow. 📲 We urge all Australians to use our voices, including our online voices, to promote respect and a sense of community. It is vital we don’t use social media as a tool for division and fear but instead as an instrument of solidarity and social cohesion. ⛔ That includes not sharing or reposting material of the violence and the attacks. This may be done out of sheer horror or indignance, but the re-sharing of material further perpetuates the violence, as well as harm to victims, even if it is done with the best of intentions. See our advice on what to do if you see distressing content online ⬇

Following the events of the last several days, you may come across online content that is distressing. Online spaces should be safe for everyone. If you see violent, distressing or harmful material: 1️⃣ Don't share it further – even if your intention is to help or raise awareness, you may cause distress to others. 2️⃣ Report it to the platform to help get the material removed quickly. 3️⃣ If the material is not removed, or if it's seriously harmful, you can report it to eSafety: eSafety.gov.au/report eSafety can notify the platform to either remove the content or block access from within Australia. Your actions could protect you and others from seeing that content again. Find more guidance and information at: https://lnkd.in/gAw_mtWf 👨👩👧👦 Parents and carers may want to take extra precautions against their children seeing disturbing content online. eSafety has a range of helpful resources on: ➡ Having agreed rules as a family: https://lnkd.in/gE2j-raG ➡ How to get started with parental controls: https://lnkd.in/gS8nUpfF ➡ What young people can do themselves: https://lnkd.in/gngB6SaB 🏫 Schools can circulate our guidance to their educators, wellbeing staff, and parents and carers, to provide them with strategies to reduce the risk of children and young people being exposed to this content, and to support those who are. If you or a child have seen disturbing content online, talking to someone can make it easier to decide what to do and how to deal with its impact. Get support: https://lnkd.in/gvUEKeRG

Following the events of the last several days, you may come across online content that is distressing. Online spaces should be safe for everyone. If you see violent, distressing or harmful material: 1️⃣ Don't share it further – even if your intention is to help or raise awareness, you may cause distress to others. 2️⃣ Report it to the platform to help get the material removed quickly. 3️⃣ If the material is not removed, or if it's seriously harmful, you can report it to eSafety: eSafety.gov.au/report eSafety can notify the platform to either remove the content or block access from within Australia. Your actions could protect you and others from seeing that content again. Find more guidance and information at: https://lnkd.in/gAw_mtWf 👨👩👧👦 Parents and carers may want to take extra precautions against their children seeing disturbing content online. eSafety has a range of helpful resources on: ➡ Having agreed rules as a family: https://lnkd.in/gE2j-raG ➡ How to get started with parental controls: https://lnkd.in/gS8nUpfF ➡ What young people can do themselves: https://lnkd.in/gngB6SaB 🏫 Schools can circulate our guidance to their educators, wellbeing staff, and parents and carers, to provide them with strategies to reduce the risk of children and young people being exposed to this content, and to support those who are. If you or a child have seen disturbing content online, talking to someone can make it easier to decide what to do and how to deal with its impact. Get support: https://lnkd.in/gvUEKeRG