The Australian government would consider a tougher crackdown on Twitter if the company fails to comply with online safety laws and takedown notices, the communications minister has said.
In February, Michelle Rowland wrote to Twitter’s vice-president for trust and safety, Ella Irwin, expressing concern over the axing of the company’s Australian presence after billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform. Her concerns centred on the impact it would have for government agencies and law enforcement communicating with the company.
Guardian Australia can reveal that Rowland has never received a response from Twitter, and said on Tuesday that the government did not rule out more regulation of the company.
“I could not be clearer that we do not rule out the potential for further regulation in this area, or at least enforcement of the existing regulatory regime, in the event that they are failing to live up to the expectations of industry.”
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said local contacts for dealing with law enforcement issues, such as takedown notices for image-based abuse or bullying, had disappeared.
She said those who had been suspended under the old regime had had their accounts reinstated since Musk had taken over the website, and the “anything goes” approach to moderation had made Twitter toxic. She said that is why she believes people are abandoning the service.
“You let sewer rats and you let all these people who’ve been suspended back on the platform, while you get rid of the trust-and-safety people and processes and those who are really dedicated people, who look at terrible content and the worst of humanity every day … and think you’re going to get a better, more engaging product that protects the brand is pretty crazy,” she said.
“And of course, brands are walking with their feet and people aren’t signing up for Twitter Blue. Nobody really wants to be on a platform that feels toxic or feels unsafe.”
The eSafety commissioner issued several platforms, including Twitter, with legal notices earlier this year, requiring the companies to explain how – under the basic online safety expectation regulations – they are tackling child abuse material on their platforms, and preventing their algorithms from amplifying it.
Inman Grant said the regulatory process was still under way, and she would be able to comment more on Twitter once that process was complete.
Last week Twitter was forced to disable auto-suggestions in its search functionality after users reported cat and dog torture being suggested as search terms, and gruesome videos appearing in the search results.
Twitter no longer has a press department. Questions sent to the company’s former email address received an auto-reply of the poop emoji.
Inman Grant wrote to Musk in November last year raising similar concerns but never received a response. Her office told the Senate that a Twitter representative said the company was committed to complying with laws and protecting users from harm.
In the federal budget, the Albanese Labor government quadrupled the funding allocation for the eSafety commissioner’s office over the next four years to $132.1m – taking the annual funding allocation from $10.3m a year to $42.5m.
The funding will be used to allow the office to respond more quickly to the rise in reports of online abuse. Inman Grant said on Tuesday that reports had continued to rise year-on-year, but victims of image-based abuse had shifted from majority women to 84% young men. She said attacks on the trans community were also on the rise.
“We need to be on the front foot in terms of understanding what different communities are experiencing and how it’s being experienced and to apply our resources accordingly to help those that are being most targeted.”
