On 23 January 2022, we welcomed the commencement of the Online Safety Act, which provides additional protections for Australians in the fight against online harms.
The Online Safety Act 2021 brings some big changes, including a world-first Adult Cyber Abuse Scheme to protect Australians aged over 18, and a broader Cyberbullying Scheme for Australian children to capture harms that occur on online services other than social media.
The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) now also has the authority to order service providers to remove illegal and restricted content – including child sexual exploitation material and terrorist content – no matter where it is hosted.
The Online Safety Act 2021 has significant implications for online service providers because it makes them more accountable for the online safety of people who use their service.
For advice and support, we encourage you to visit esafety.gov.au. You’ll find details about what the Online Safety Act 2021 is and what it means for Australians who use online platforms and services.