eSafety has today commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against X Corp. for its alleged failure to comply with a non-periodic reporting notice (a ‘transparency notice’) given in February 2023 under the Online Safety Act.
The transparency notice required information about how the provider was meeting the Basic Online Safety Expectations in relation to child sexual exploitation and abuse material and activity on Twitter (subsequently renamed ‘X’).
eSafety alleges X Corp. failed to comply with the notice. Specifically, eSafety alleges that X Corp. did not prepare a report in the manner and form specified because it failed to respond or failed to respond truthfully and accurately to certain questions in the notice.
It is important that X Corp. and other providers are deterred from non-compliance with statutory notices.
eSafety gave X Corp. an infringement notice for $610,500 in September 2023 for its failure to comply with the notice.
X Corp. did not pay the infringement notice. It has sought judicial review of eSafety’s reliance on the transparency notice and the giving of the service provider notification and the infringement notice.
eSafety is requesting the judicial review be heard in tandem with the civil penalty proceedings to avoid delays to either process.
Further information on the transparency notice can be found here:
- Second set of tech giants falling short in tackling child sexual exploitation material, sexual extortion, livestreaming of abuse
- Responses to transparency notices
Concise statement
eSafety Commissioner v X Corp. Concise Statement 20231221 (PDF, 3.8MB).
This document contains eSafety’s initiating court documents in relation to this matter.
About us:
The eSafety Commissioner is Australia’s independent regulator for online safety. Our purpose is to help safeguard all Australians from online harms and to promote safer, more positive online experiences.
eSafety acts as a safety net for Australians who report cyberbullying, serious online abuse of an adult or image-based abuse. We can also investigate and remove seriously harmful illegal and restricted content, including online child sexual exploitation material. Find out more: eSafety.gov.au
Contact details:
For media inquiries, contact media@esafety.gov.au or phone 0439 519 684 (virtual phone: calls only, no text)