Australia calls out Big Tech for failing to protect kids online

Australia’s online safety regulator has delivered a scathing assessment of major technology companies, accusing them of failing to curb child sexual exploitation and abuse on their platforms.

The rebuke from the eSafety Commissioner targets global giants including Meta, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Snap Inc, and comes as experts in India warn that similar problems are escalating among the country’s young social media users.

In a report published on Thursday, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that repeated appeals to tech companies to strengthen safeguards have gone largely unanswered. The report details critical failings, including poor detection of live abuse during video calls and inadequate efforts to identify newly created exploitative content.

“It beggars belief that these have not yet been deployed,” Inman Grant said, as reported by Bloomberg. “We have been engaging with these companies for a long time on these issues. It’s disappointing to see so little progress being made.”

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She said firms lacked adequate language analysis tools to detect sexual extortion or grooming attempts targeting Australian children, even after being provided with clear indicators. Inman Grant described the situation as a question of “corporate conscience and accountability,” urging stronger responsibility from Big Tech to prevent abuse rather than react to it.

Neither Meta, Google, Apple, Microsoft nor Snap immediately responded to requests for comment.

Australia, which has taken one of the toughest stances globally on online safety, recently passed a world-first law banning social media for children under 16, a move intended to protect minors from exploitation and mental health risks associated with online platforms.

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India’s growing challenge with children’s social media use

While the Australian regulator’s criticism was aimed at global platforms, the issues it raised resonate strongly in India, where children’s exposure to digital content has grown sharply with the spread of affordable smartphones and short-video apps.

Firstpost previously spoke to Dr Pulkit Sharma, clinical psychologist and author, about where India stand on the children and social media use. He said that India is already grappling with the psychological fallout of excessive screen time and social media addiction among children.

“Since the boom of social media, research has shown that overuse impacts every aspect of health, physical, mental, and emotional,” Dr Sharma said.

He noted that children are increasingly displaying behavioural issues and shorter attention spans. “Social media, especially the reel or shorts culture, is highly addictive. It is an unending stream of entertainment, and kids often lose track of time,” he said.

According to Dr Sharma, constant exposure to online content is warping children’s perception of reality. “Since they are so invested in video streams and content, children often get a skewed view of reality that is not theirs. Online content has no limitations, and children these days are watching everything and anything. This is a major issue that hampers mental growth,” he explained.

He added that while countries like Australia and France are enforcing bans, a complete prohibition would be impractical in India. “Banning social media altogether in a vast country like India is difficult. Until we find that balance, parents must draw boundaries, keep an eye on what their children are consuming, and block harmful content where needed,” he advised.