App execs at cyber abuse seminar

Senior executives from Bumble, Grindr and Tinder will attend a roundtable with government on Wednesday to discuss the dangers of their apps.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Senior executives from Bumble, Grindr and Tinder will attend a roundtable with government on Wednesday to discuss the dangers of their apps, as part of the Albanese government push to stamp out gendered violence.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland will convene a national roundtable on online dating safety in a bid to prevent the “exploitation” of online dating services by perpetrators of abuse. “The government is concerned by unacceptable levels of abuse and harassment,” she said.

“The roundtable will hear ­directly from the online dating industry about their efforts to prevent violence and abuse arising from use of their services.”

Ms Rowland will say people who cause harm in the “digital world” need to be held as accountable as they would be if they perpetrated such harms offline. “We know women are more likely than men to experience online harm – particularly sexualised, violent and threatening abuse,” she will tell the roundtable.

“We want to know what industry is doing to prevent and address harm on their services, and what more is possible.”

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, who will also attend the roundtable, will say abuse perpetrated on dating apps is a form of gender-based ­violence

“It is violence perpetrated using technology – but no matter the medium, the driver remains the same: gender inequality,” she will tell the roundtable.

“Every sexist joke in the workplace, every time a woman is trolled online, and every time we tell our children that boys harass or hit girls when they like them, sends a message to the community that not everyone is equal.”

In the five years to 2021, three in four people using dating apps or websites experienced some form of sexual violence facili­tated by the technology, which included sexual harassment, abusive or threatening language, image-based sexual abuse and stalking.

“We must end this violence, no matter whether it’s occurring or being facilitated online, or in person,” Ms Rishworth said.

“We must do better.”

She said questions around “tracking” escalating behaviour on the apps and educated users about respectful relationships needed to be considered.

“Online violence is turning into violence offline – nearly half of those who experienced sexual violence online experienced it in person,” she said.

“There is no arbitrary line between online and offline in our lives anymore. Abuse can cross between them like osmosis.”

eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant will also attend the roundtable, after years of pushing tech companies to “prioritise safety” over clicks.

It follows amendments to the Online Safety Act that required platforms to advise the com­missioner of what measures they were taking to prevent cyber bullying and harassment on their sites.