{"id":465437,"date":"2026-02-08T01:17:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/465437\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T01:17:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T01:17:51","slug":"australias-watchdog-says-big-tech-firms-are-still-failing-kids-and-its-running-out-of-patience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/465437\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s watchdog says big tech firms are still failing kids \u2014 and it\u2019s running out of patience"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report shows that Australia\u2019s cybersecurity regulator has harshly criticized several tech giants<\/a>. The Australian Cyber \u200b\u200bSecurity Commissioner’s Office says firms like Meta<\/a>, Apple<\/a>, and Google<\/a>
\nare still not doing enough to keep kids safe online, despite years of repeated warnings from the regulator. The report<\/a> paints a grim picture showing that kids are still being hurt on major apps. And the firms
\nin charge are moving far too slowly.\"hackerClaims
\nof Slow and Weak Action<\/p>\n

The
\nwatchdog says the core issue is clear. Many apps fail to spot harm while they are live. This includes sex abuse that happens during video calls. By the time
\nflags show up, the damage is done. The report also says firms lag in tracking
\nnew forms of bad content. As abuse shifts shape, tools fail to keep up. This
\nleaves gaps that bad actors use quickly.<\/p>\n

One key fear is sextortion traps.
\nThese are scams where kids are pushed to share pics, then hit with threats. The
\nwatchdog says firms had full risk notes. Yet the right word tools were not put
\nin place. To the watchdog, this is not a tech gap. It is a choice gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis
\nIs Not Good Enough\u201d<\/p>\n

Julie
\nInman Grant, the head of the office, did not hold back. She said talks with big
\nfirms have gone on for years. Yet real change is rare. She called the lack of
\naction \u201cnot ok.\u201d In her view, this goes past rule books. It is about duty and
\ncare. These firms earn trust and cash from users. Kids are part of that base.<\/p>\n

She stressed one thing again and
\nagain. Safety should come first. Not growth. Not speed. Not profit. So far,
\nthat has not been the case.<\/p>\n

Firms
\nStay Quiet as Laws TightenMost
\nfirms named did not reply. Apple<\/a> and Google<\/a> stayed silent. MS also gave no
\nword. Snap said it will keep talks open. It said kid safety is key. Still, it
\ndid not face the claims head-on. Meta<\/a> said it is \u201clooking\u201d at the report. No
\nclear steps were shared.<\/p>\n

All this comes as the Aussie government
\ngets tougher. In late 2025, a new rule was passed. Kids under 16 can
\nno longer use social apps. It was a first of its kind. Now the focus is on the
\nfirms. The message is sharp. If they do not act fast, the state may act for
\nthem. And this time, it sounds dead serious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new report shows that Australia\u2019s cybersecurity regulator has harshly criticized several tech giants. The Australian Cyber \u200b\u200bSecurity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1337,64,63,113,238242,1333,44,105],"class_list":["post-465437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-apple","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-google","tag-hacker","tag-meta","tag-news","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}