Australia's online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, has released a new transparency report exposing "significant gaps" in how major technology companies address sexual extortion and child sexual exploitation, with reports of abuse continuing to rise.
Over 2,000 sextortion complaints in six months
Between July and December 2025, more than 2,000 complaints of sexual extortion were lodged with eSafety. Men aged 18 to 24 made the most complaints of any age group, accounting for approximately 800 reports. However, the regulator noted that younger teens are increasingly being targeted.
Sexual extortion, commonly known as "sextortion," is a form of blackmail where perpetrators threaten to share intimate images or videos unless victims comply with demands.
Instagram and WhatsApp most frequently cited
Instagram and WhatsApp were the platforms most frequently mentioned in complaints, appearing in over 1,300 reports combined. For users under 18, Apple's iMessage and Snapchat were the services most commonly linked to sextortion threats.
Examples of messages sent to victims by criminals, as cited by the regulator, include: "I have everything to ruin your life," "only money can help you now to end this peacefully," and "do you want me to delete your video scandal."
Persistent safety gaps in detection and prevention
eSafety stated that the latest mandatory safety reports from platforms including Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Snap, Discord, and WhatsApp revealed "persistent safety gaps in the detection and prevention" of child sexual exploitation and abuse online. The watchdog highlighted "serious gaps" in the use of available detection technologies, such as language analysis that can identify coercion scripts used by offenders.
The report also found a "lack of proactive detection tools" in live streaming features, with most platforms lacking mechanisms to identify abuse in video calls and live streams. Microsoft was the only company that reported using both detection technologies.
eSafety Commissioner calls for more action
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the findings show the watchdog hasn't "seen adequate responses, despite the technology being readily available." She added: "Offenders are continuing to exploit gaps in platform design, weak detection systems and inconsistent safeguards to move seamlessly between services and escalate harm against children. This report shows that platforms could and should be doing a lot more to prevent these harms and there are simple steps they can take today to protect users."
Expert criticizes reactive approach
Dr. Joanne Gray, an academic at the University of Sydney, expressed concern that platforms "still tend to be taking a reactive approach" rather than a preventive one. "They are taking it down when they find it or are made aware of it, but they are not doing enough to prevent it from being there in the first place," she said.
Gray argued that this approach falls short of protecting users and that greater effort must go into embedding safeguards into service design. "These technology companies are investing billions of dollars in innovating and creating all sorts of new technologies, and if they want to provide live-streaming services, then they need to do so in a way that is safe and responsible … if they can’t, then don’t allow live streaming," she said.
