Australia demands Apple, Meta, Microsoft share anti-abuse steps, threatens fines

An Australian regulator sent legal letters to Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp demanding they share their strategies for stamping out child abuse material on their platforms or face fines.

The e-Safety Commissioner, a body set up to protect internet users, said it used laws which took effect in January to compel the technology giants to disclose measures they were taking to detect and remove abuse material within 28 days. If they did not, the companies would each face a fine of A$555,000 ($383,000) per day.

The threat underscores Australia’s hardline approach to regulating Big Tech firms since 2021 which has so far included laws forcing them to pay media outlets for displaying their content and laws making them hand over details of anonymous accounts which post defamatory material.