Australia’s online safety regulator has identified significant deficiencies in how major technology companies address sexual extortion and child sexual exploitation, as reports of such abuse continue to rise. The findings come from eSafety’s latest transparency report, which examined the efforts of Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Snap, Discord, and WhatsApp in combating these issues.
Over 2,000 sextortion complaints in six months
Between July and December 2025, eSafety received more than 2,000 complaints of sexual extortion, also known as “sextortion.” This form of blackmail involves threats to share intimate images or videos unless victims comply with demands. Men aged 18 to 24 filed the most complaints, accounting for approximately 800 reports, but younger teens are increasingly targeted.
Instagram and WhatsApp were the most frequently cited platforms, appearing in over 1,300 complaints combined. For users under 18, Apple’s iMessage and Snapchat were the services most commonly linked to sextortion threats. Criminals often sent messages such as “I have everything to ruin your life,” “only money can help you now to end this peacefully,” and “do you want me to delete your video scandal.”
Persistent safety gaps in detection and prevention
eSafety reported that the latest mandatory safety disclosures from platforms reveal “persistent safety gaps in the detection and prevention” of child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The watchdog highlighted serious shortcomings in the use of available detection technologies, such as language analysis that can identify coercion scripts commonly used by offenders.
The report also found a lack of proactive detection tools in live streaming features, with most platforms lacking mechanisms to identify abuse during video calls and live streams. Microsoft was the only company that reported using both language analysis and proactive detection technologies.
Commissioner and expert call for stronger action
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant stated that the findings show the watchdog has not “seen adequate responses, despite the technology being readily available.” She added: “Offenders are continuing to exploit gaps in platform design, weak detection systems and inconsistent safeguards to move seamlessly between services and escalate harm against children. This report shows that platforms could and should be doing a lot more to prevent these harms and there are simple steps they can take today to protect users.”
Dr Joanne Gray, an academic at the University of Sydney, expressed concern that platforms “still tend to be taking a reactive approach” rather than a preventive one. “They are taking it down when they find it or are made aware of it, but they are not doing enough to prevent it from being there in the first place,” she said. Gray emphasized that technology companies invest billions in innovation and must embed safeguards into service design, adding: “If they want to provide live-streaming services, then they need to do so in a way that is safe and responsible … if they can’t, then don’t allow live streaming.”
