Australian Regulator Cites 'Serious Gaps' in Big Tech's Child Safety Efforts

Australia's internet regulator, eSafety, has issued a report identifying "significant gaps" in the efforts of major technology companies, including Apple, Meta, and Google, to combat child sexual abuse and the rising threat of online sexual extortion. The findings indicate that platforms are not fully deploying available technologies to protect vulnerable users.

Key Findings from the Report

The transparency report, released Tuesday, asserts that online platforms are failing to utilize technologies capable of identifying well-known coercion scripts used by sexual extortion offenders. It also highlighted inconsistent deployment of technology that can detect livestreamed child sexual abuse.

"In several cases, we have provided these platforms with evidence of how their services are being colonised by criminals to devastating impact, with clear guidance on how to stem the abuse," said eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant. "Even when we’ve laid this out, we haven’t seen adequate responses, despite the technology being readily available."

The report specifically noted persistent gaps in user reporting tools for services like WhatsApp, iMessage, Discord, and Google Messages, with some lacking clear or dedicated categories for reporting sexual extortion and child abuse.

Spotlight on Sexual Extortion

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The report places a significant focus on sexual extortion, a form of online blackmail where perpetrators threaten to share intimate material. The regulator stated it received over 2,000 complaints about this issue between July and December 2025, with young men aged 18 to 24 being the most affected demographic.

An eSafety study from the previous year found that more than one in ten teenagers aged 16-18 had been victims of sexual extortion. The regulator's investigators observed that companies failed to detect recurring tactics used across multiple extortion scams.

Regulatory Context

This report is the third in a series of four mandated by Australia's "Basic Online Safety Expectations" rules, which require eight major tech platforms to report on their compliance every six months. The findings come as the Australian government increases pressure on the tech industry, having introduced legislation in June to grant eSafety more power to enforce rules, including a potential ban on social media for users under 16.

While the report was largely critical, it did acknowledge some improvements. It noted that Google and Snap have taken steps to proactively detect known child sexual abuse material, Meta is using new tools to detect grooming, and Microsoft has improved detection of live abuse in video calls. According to Reuters, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Snap did not immediately respond to requests for comment.