Australia fined social network X nearly $400,000 and here's why

Social network X (formerly Twitter) is not taking a strong stance on preventing child sexual abuse content.

ESafety said that social network X's reduction of many staff positions responsible for content moderation and preventing child sexual abuse has weakened X's ability to proactively detect this behavior. (Source: AFP)

On October 16, Australia's online safety watchdog ESafety fined social network X (formerly Twitter) 610,500 AUD (equivalent to 385,000 USD) for its lack of determination in preventing child sexual abuse content.

“Twitter/X has publicly stated that tackling child sexual exploitation is the company’s number one priority, but that can’t just be empty talk, we need to see words backed up by tangible actions,” said Inman Grant, a member of ESafety.

In February, eSafety sent legal notices to X, then Twitter, along with other tech companies like Google, TikTok, Twitch and Discord, asking them to demonstrate how they moderate and remove extremist content.

However, X has had a less than positive response. According to Ms. Inman Grant, the social network has not answered many questions and left many answer boxes blank, citing concerns about public perception or an incomplete system.

After taking over Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk fired more than 80% of the social network's employees globally, including many personnel positions responsible for content moderation and preventing child sexual abuse.

This has reduced X's ability to proactively detect child exploitation content from 90% to 75% in just three months, according to Ms. Inman Grant.

Child sexual exploitation is a growing problem in Australia and around the world , says ESafety members.

Social media companies “have a fundamental responsibility to ensure that platforms used by hundreds of millions of people around the world are safe.”

“We expect car manufacturers to wear seat belts, we have food standards, so tech companies should be no different,” Ms. Inman Grant argued.

X now has 28 days to pay the fine. “If they don’t pay the fine within 28 days, eSafety can file a civil penalty, go to court, and depending on the court’s decision, the overall fine could be much higher – up to $780,000 per day from the time they were found to be non-compliant since March,” Ms. Inman Grant said.

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