ESafety Commissioner

Last updated

Office of the eSafety Commissioner
ESafety Commissioner.svg
Agency overview
Formed1 July 2015;10 years ago (2015-07-01)
Jurisdiction Australian Government
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Parent agency Australian Communications and Media Authority
Key document
Website www.esafety.gov.au
Footnotes
[1]

The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) is an independent agency of the Australian government responsible for the regulation of online safety. The commission has no ongoing employees, rather it draws resources from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) as required.

In January 2014, the original legislation had a clear focus on respond to cyberbullying against children, until ACMA set up the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner as an independent statutory authority under the Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015 . [2] [3]

In June 2021, the Australian parliament enacted the Online Safety Act 2021 . The Act consolidated the legislative arrangements for eSafety and established updated schemes to keep Australians safe online, including a new scheme to address serious online abuse of adults. It commenced on 23 January 2022. [4] [5] In December 2024, the Online Safety Amendment was passed by parliament and aims to prevent children under the age of 16 from accessing certain social media platforms. [6] [7] The regulations specify exactly which types of social media platforms will be banned. [8]

In July 2025, the eSafety Commissioner criticised YouTube for turning a "blind eye" to child abuse. [9]

Since 2017, the commissioner has been Julie Inman Grant. She was reappointed to a second five-year term in 2022. [10] [11] [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Part 2 eSafety Commissioner annual report 2023–24". Annual report 2023–24 Australian Communications and Media Authority eSafety Commissioner (PDF) (Report). esafety.gov.au. 12 September 2024. ISSN   1834-1845. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025– via Commonwealth of Australia.
  2. ↑ ""The Most Important Regulator You May Have Never Heard Of"". Gilbert + Tobin . 1 March 2021. Archived from the original on 11 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Enhancing Online Safety for Children Act 2015 (Cth)
  4. ↑ Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth)
  5. ↑ "Australia moves on online safety". Baker McKenzie InsightPlus. Archived from the original on 9 April 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  6. ↑ McGuirk, Rod; Chan, Kelvin (29 November 2024). "Australian Parliament bans social media for under-16s with world-first law". The Associated Press . Melbourne, Australia; London. Archived from the original on 29 November 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  7. ↑ Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 (Cth)
  8. ↑ Online Safety (Age - Restricted Social Media Platforms) Rules 2025 (Cth)
  9. ↑ "eSafety commissioner says YouTube 'turning a blind eye' to child abuse". ABC News . Reuters. 6 August 2025. Archived from the original on 11 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  10. ↑ Seantor the Hon Mitch Fifield; Seantor the Hon Michaelia Cash; Julie Inman Grant (23 November 2016). "Appointment of eSafety Commissioner" (Press release). Parliament House, Canberra. Archived from the original on 15 January 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  11. ↑ The Hon Paul Fletcher MP (23 January 2022). "eSafety Commissioner Reappointed" (PDF) (Press release). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Brookes, Joseph (24 January 2022). "eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant reappointed for another five years". InnovationAus. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.