Australia Gives Online Industry Ultimatum to Protect Children from Age-Explicit Harmful Content
3 July 2024 at 15:57
Why 'Enforceable Codes' are Important
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant noted the pervasive and invasive nature of online pornography. She said children often encounter explicit material accidentally and at younger ages than before.βOur ownΒ research shows that while the average age when Australian children first encounter pornography is around 13, a third of these children are actually seeing this content younger and often by accident,βΒ - eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman GrantShe clarified that these measures focus on preventing young childrenβs unintentional exposure to explicit content that revolves around such a sensitive topic. Social media plays a significant role in unintentional exposure, with 60% of young people encountering pornography on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, according to Inman Grant. βThe last thing anyone wants is children seeing violent or extreme pornography without guidance, context or the appropriate maturity levels because they may think that a video showing a man aggressively choking a woman during sex on a porn site is what consent, sex and healthy relationships should look like,β she added. Parents and caregivers are crucial in protecting children, but the industry must also implement effective barriers, Inman Grant stressed. These could include age verification, default safety settings, parental controls, and tools to filter or blur unwanted sexual content. Such measures should apply across all technology layers, from connected devices to app stores, messaging services, social media platforms, and search engines, providing multi-layered protection, the eSafety Commissioner said.
Draft Due Oct. 3, Final Versions by Dec. 19
Industry bodies are required to submit a preliminary draft of the codes by October 3, with final versions due at the end of the year on December 19. Public consultations in the process of defining "enforceable codes" is also a requirement from the eSafety commissioner. eSafety has released a Position Paper to help industry develop these codes and clarify expectations.βWe want industry to succeed here and we will work with them to help them come up with codes that provide meaningful protections for children.β - eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant