Australian Regulator Finds Major Gaps in Platforms' Detection of Child Exploitation

Australia's eSafety Commissioner has identified significant shortcomings in major online platforms' ability to detect child sexual exploitation and extortion. In its third periodic transparency report, the regulator stated that platforms continue to rely heavily on user reports rather than proactively identifying and preventing harmful activities.

The report covers the second half of 2025 and assesses how Apple, Discord, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap, and WhatsApp comply with Australia's Basic Online Safety Expectations (BOSE). It specifically examines providers' actions to prevent child sexual abuse, grooming, and exploitation targeting both children and adults.

Key deficiencies include limited proactive detection, particularly for newly created child sexual abuse material. Protections during video calls were found to be weak, with only Microsoft utilizing tools for real-time disruption. Improvements are also needed in detecting and preventing grooming.

The report acknowledged that end-to-end encryption complicates proactive detection but stressed the need for continuous development of new technologies and layered approaches to identify unlawful activity. While some progress has been made, such as companies investing in improved detection tools, significant safety gaps remain across the industry.

During the reporting period, the regulator received 2,206 complaints of sexual extortion. The most frequently mentioned platforms were Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram. For adults, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram were the most common, while children most often reported incidents on Telegram, iMessage, and Snapchat.