SYDNEY — Australia’s online safety regulator has put social media giants on notice, requiring them to explain what they are doing to to protect people from violent extremists and terrorists.
The country’s eSafety regulator announced Tuesday that it had issued legal notices to Google, Meta, X, WhatsApp, Telegram and Reddit requiring each company to report on steps they are taking to protect Australian users of their platforms from extremist material online.
Accessing violent and extremist content on social media has been blamed for the radicalization of the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch mosques shootings, which killed 51 people, and also a gunman who murdered 10 black Americans at Buffalo in New York in 2022. Both shooters also livestreamed parts of their attack online.
According to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant the risk of terrorism and online radicalization remains high both in Australia and internationally.
“The tech companies that provide these services have a responsibility to ensure that these features and their services cannot be exploited to perpetrate such harm and that’s why we are sending these notices to get a look under the hood at what they are and are not doing,” Inman Grant said in a written statement.
“We remain concerned about how extremists weaponise technology like live-streaming, algorithms and recommender systems and other features to promote or share this hugely harmful material.”
The Commission said it had issued the notices under transparency powers granted under Australia’s Online Safety Act, which will require the six companies to answer a series of detailed questions about how they are tackling the issue.
“It’s no coincidence we have chosen these companies to send notices to as there is evidence that their services are exploited by terrorists and violent extremists. We want to know why this is and what they are doing to tackle the issue,” Inman Grant said.
“And, disappointingly, none of these companies have chosen to provide this information through the existing voluntary framework – developed in conjunction with industry – provided by the OECD.”
The companies have 49 days to respond and face financial penalties of around 780 thousand Australian dollars ($510,000) per day if they don’t comply.
According to a recent OECD report, Telegram is the top ranked mainstream platform when it comes to the prevalence of terrorist and violent extremist material, with Google’s YouTube ranked second and X, formerly known as Twitter, third. The Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram round out the top five.
WhatsApp is ranked 8th while a 2022 report by the New York State Attorney General confirmed the Buffalo supermarket shooter’s ‘manifesto’ cited Reddit as a platform that played a role in his radicalization towards violent white supremacist extremism.
The eSafety Commission will also be asking Telegram and Reddit about measures they have in place to detect and remove child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The Commission said it will publish further information on the findings later in the year.
Australia’s Inquiry into Cyber Extremism Threats Poses Tough Questions for Google, Meta, and Other Tech Companies
In recent years, the rise of cyber extremism has become a growing concern for governments around the world. With the spread of misinformation, hate speech, and radicalization online, tech companies have come under increasing scrutiny for their role in facilitating these harmful activities. In Australia, a recent inquiry into cyber extremism threats has put major tech companies like Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) in the hot seat, raising tough questions about their responsibility to combat online extremism.
The inquiry, led by the Australian government’s Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, aims to investigate the extent of cyber extremism in Australia and assess the effectiveness of current measures to combat it. The committee has called on tech companies to provide evidence on how they are addressing the spread of extremist content on their platforms, as well as their cooperation with law enforcement agencies in identifying and removing such content.
Google and Meta, as two of the largest tech companies in the world, have faced criticism in the past for their handling of extremist content on their platforms. Both companies have implemented various measures to combat online extremism, such as using artificial intelligence to detect and remove harmful content, partnering with external organizations to counter extremist narratives, and implementing stricter community guidelines. However, critics argue that these measures are not always effective in preventing the spread of extremist content and that tech companies need to do more to address the root causes of online radicalization.
One of the key challenges facing tech companies in combating cyber extremism is the sheer volume of content uploaded to their platforms every day. With billions of users worldwide, it is virtually impossible for companies like Google and Meta to manually review every piece of content that is uploaded, making it difficult to identify and remove extremist material in a timely manner. This has led to calls for tech companies to invest more resources in developing advanced AI algorithms that can better detect and remove harmful content automatically.
Another challenge is the issue of encryption, which has been a point of contention between tech companies and governments around the world. While encryption is essential for protecting user privacy and security, it also makes it harder for law enforcement agencies to track and monitor extremist activities online. The Australian government has called on tech companies to provide greater access to encrypted data in order to combat cyber extremism, but tech companies have pushed back, citing concerns about user privacy and the potential for government overreach.
The inquiry into cyber extremism threats in Australia poses tough questions for tech companies like Google and Meta, forcing them to confront their role in combating online radicalization. While tech companies have made efforts to address the spread of extremist content on their platforms, there is still much work to be done in order to effectively tackle this growing threat. As governments around the world continue to grapple with the challenges of cyber extremism, it is clear that tech companies will play a crucial role in shaping the future of online safety and security.
