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Australian regulator says Big Tech falling short on countering sexual extortion

By Sean Maguire ( July 17, 2026, 07:08 GMT | Insight) -- Australia's online-safety regulator says major technology companies are failing to fully deploy tools that could detect and prevent sexual extortion and child sexual abuse, despite increasing reports of sexual extortion. The regulator found significant gaps in the safety systems used by Apple, Discord, Google, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Snap and WhatsApp, although it said some companies had improved proactive detection measures and Microsoft was the only provider using tools to detect livestreamed child sexual abuse in video calls. Communications Minister Anika Wells said Big Tech had the tools and resources to better protect users but was failing to use them effectively.Australia's online-safety regulator has said major technology companies are failing to fully deploy existing tools to detect and prevent sexual extortion and child sexual abuse, despite increasing reports of sexual extortion....

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