The eSafety Commissioner and the Queensland Police Service have committed to closer collaboration in the fight against criminal content and other serious online harms.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant and Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today, formalising protocols for cooperation in matters ranging from cyberbullying to image-based abuse, adult cyber abuse and illegal and harmful content.
The MoU will see eSafety share information with Queensland Police from investigations into some of the thousands of complaints it receives every month.
"Reports to eSafety continue to rise unabated across all our reporting schemes,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“Concerningly, we recorded a 70 per cent jump in cyberbullying alone last year, and we’re seeing the full spectrum of online content and threats becoming increasingly criminal and violent.
“Since eSafety’s inception, we’ve worked closely with Queensland Police’s Task Force Argos on tackling child sexual abuse material,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“This MOU helps further strengthen eSafety’s partnership around other vital areas of cooperation.”
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the QPS was investing significantly in building our capability to better monitor and collect online intelligence.
“We know that the borderless nature of the internet continues to pose a significant challenge to law enforcement agencies and this is why working in partnership with the eSafety Commissioner is vital,” Commissioner Carroll said.
“I look forward to continuing to build our agencies relationship and keeping Queenslanders safe online.”
The MoU updates protocols to reflect eSafety’s expanded role and powers under the Online Safety Act.
eSafety also provides information, resources and training to help police officers around Australia deal with online harms ranging from cyberbullying to gender-based violence.
“It is vital that eSafety’s works with law enforcement agencies such as QPS to target perpetrators and identify victims in more serious criminal matters, Ms Inman Grant said.
“This complements our civil powers to remove harmful content and allows both eSafety and police to collaborate more effectively and to ultimately keep Australians safer – online, and in the real world.
“QPS is a major partner for eSafety as we work to jointly tackle online harms at scale and educate the Queensland community about how to stay safe.”