Tech giants to report on how they tackle terrorism to eSafety Commissioner

The context: eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said recent terrorist attacks underscored how social media and other online services could be exploited by violent extremists, leading to radicalisation and threats to public safety.

The online safety regulator issued the notices under transparency powers granted under the Online Safety Act, which will require the companies to answer a series of detailed questions about how they are tackling the issue.

eSafety will also be asking Telegram and Reddit about measures they have in place to detect and remove child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Inman Grant said that "disappointingly" none of the companies chose to provide this type of information through the OECD's existing voluntary framework, which was developed in conjunction with the industry.

What they said: “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," Inman Grant said.

“We are also concerned by reports that terrorists and violent extremists are moving to capitalise on the emergence of generative AI and are experimenting with ways this new technology can be misused to cause harm.

“Earlier this month the UN-backed Tech against Terrorism reported that it had identified users of an Islamic State forum comparing the attributes of Google’s Gemini, ChatGPT, and Microsoft’s Copilot."