Australia: Adopted Regulatory Guidance on the Basic Online Safety Expectations

On 25 July 2022, Australia's eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) published Regulatory Guidance on the Basic Online Safety Expectations. The Basic Online Safety Expectations are set out in section 46 of the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) and the Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2022, published in January 2022. The Safety Expectations include a range of obligations for online platforms, including minimising illegal and harmful content and protecting children from exposure to inappropriate content. The Regulatory Guidance further specifies these expectations by setting minimum standards for social media services, internet services, and messaging service providers. Also contained are record-keeping obligations of complaints for a duration of 5 years, as well as a duty to respond to requests of eSafety within 30 days.