Australian regulator demands social media firms disclose anti-terrorism efforts

19/3/2024 11:45

        An Australian regulator has sent legal letters to social media platforms from YouTube, X and Facebook to Telegram and Reddit, demanding they hand over information about their efforts to stamp out terrorism content.
        
        The e-Safety Commission said it was concerned the platforms were not doing enough to stop extremists from using live-streaming features, algorithms and recommendation systems to recruit users.
        
        Since 2022, the regulator has had the power to demand big tech firms give information about the prevalence of illegal content and their measures to prevent that content from spreading. Failure to do so can result in hefty fines.
        
        Inman Grant said Telegram was the most used by violent extremist groups to radicalise and recruit.
        
        She added, YouTube, ranked second for violent extremist content, "has the power through their clever algorithms to spread propaganda broadly ... in a very overt way or a very subtle way that sends people down rabbit holes."