Members of the European Parliament will today kick off five days of high-level talks with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and the Australian Government to learn more about our world-leading approach to online safety regulation and child online protection.
The visit comes at a critical moment, with the European Commission set to release new legislation to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation
The talks will also help inform the development of the Commission’s proposed Digital Services Act, a key piece of legislation that will shape the future of online regulation across the European Union (EU) and around the world.
“Australia has been leading the world in online safety regulation for the past six years and we now have a successful and replicable model that the rest of the world is closely looking at. This visit by representatives of the European Parliament shows how important this work has been,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
“We have successfully created an extremely hostile environment for the hosting of illegal content like child sexual exploitation material, to the point that none of these sites are able to operate here.
“It’s encouraging that the EU is looking at our experience, because if Europe were to follow a similar path to Australia it would help to close the net around those seeking to trade and profit from this terrible content.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, we know more Australians are accessing this content than ever before, with reports of illegal content like child sexual abuse material up 101% in 2021 compared to 2019.”
Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher said: “Online safety issues, by their very nature, require cooperation across national borders if they are going to be tackled comprehensively. That is why this visit to Australia by members of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights is so welcome, and so important.
“Australia is a pioneer where the safety of citizens, especially children, online is concerned. We are happy to share our experiences with other nations, and keen to learn from their perspectives.”
Members of the EU delegation include the co-chairs of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights, Swedish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and former Paralympic swimmer David Lega, and Italian MEP and magistrate, Caterina Chinnici, as well the Secretary-General of the Intergroup, Emilio Puccio.
They will hold roundtable talks with Ms Inman Grant and Minister Fletcher, along with representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Department of Home Affairs, National Office of Child Safety, Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) and the Australian Federal Police.
A separate roundtable will be held with Ms Grant, Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds and Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk.
Ms Grant said the delegation will also be examining the Safety by Design program developed by eSafety, which encourages digital service providers to make safety a key part of their design and development process.
“Ultimately, we want to get to a place where we are stopping online harms from happening in the first place. This is the goal of our Safety by Design program and it’s encouraging to see the European Parliament taking an interest in this game-changing initiative,” she said.