Police say social media ignoring requests to remove harmful posts
Meta and other social media giants are ignoring repeated police requests to take down explicit and violent content.
NSW
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Meta and other social media giants are ignoring repeated police requests to take down explicit and violent content.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal police have made at least nine “take down” requests that have not been obeyed or the order even acknowledged.
The revelation is contained in a Minns government submission to a federal government review under way into online safety laws, which is considering whether the legislation should be amended to impose a new duty of care for platforms towards users.
Prepared by the NSW Cabinet Office, the submission said while the Online Safety Act 2021 had given NSW Police Force (NSWPF) greater scope to request the removal of content, this was not occurring.
Two of the most significant issues police had were what to do when a contact was unavailable at the online service provider to assist with a content removal request and when there was a lack of a response.
And, while the establishment of an eSafety Commissioner gave police another way to try to have content removed, the commissioner was also facing similar problems.
Police revealed online providers had removed content from their platforms following a request from police on 14 occasions – two with the assistance of the eSafety Commissioner.
However, on another seven occasions, police said they were “unsure” whether the provider removed the content as they did not receive a response to their request. On two occasions, the provider did not remove the content upon request by the NSWPF
The submission said police wanted online service providers to be required to have designated contacts “that are always available to assist law enforcement”.
When a contact is not available, police are demanding that an alternative contact person is provided or “a generic email address” that was “always monitored by the online service provider”.
The government noted how NSW residents had recently experienced the impacts of “online harms” in the wake of the recent Bondi Junction stabbing attacks and the declared terrorist incident at a Wakeley church.
The Sunday Telegraph understands police struggled to have material posted in the wake of the attacks and then the riots removed.
The state government is holding a joint summit with SA to discuss the harms posed by social media, including age restrictions for children.
The submission said the government was keen to work with the federal government on age verification technology.
It also wants the review into online safety laws to explore a duty of care on service providers to prevent the proliferation of harmful content, conduct and contact, and suggested an “enforceable Basic Online Service Expectations (BOSE)” as one way of doing so.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said “police are limited in how they protect people online, so it’s important these online platforms do their part.”
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