Major online platforms have so far been quick to respond to Australian notices requesting the removal of abhorrent violent material.
Under Australia’s online content laws, content providers have been required to remove abhorrent violent material from their platforms since mid-2019, otherwise they risk being fined up to 10% of their annual global turnover. The laws, colloquially known as the AVM Act, also expanded the eSafety commissioner’s powers, allowing the agency to send notices to online platforms requiring them to remove identified abhorrent violent material. On Wednesday afternoon, representatives for the Australia’s eSafety commissioner said online platforms have generally complied with the laws. “We’ve seen fairly rapid responses, certainly on the major platforms. We’ve been able to get on the phone with our colleagues in the platforms, explain the situation to them, notify them of the contents, and, in many cases, the material is removed within a matter of hours because it’s clearly AVM,” said eSafety online content manager Alex Ash, who appeared before Australia’s Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement. In relation to smaller online platforms, Ash said eSafety has sometimes received responses within an hour after sending out notices, with some content services removing that content overnight by preventing Australian IP addresses from accessing its service.
