Removal of inappropriate, offensive or illegal content
If you encounter a description or depiction of child sexual abuse or other exploitative or offensive descriptions or depictions of a child (child abuse material) online or other offensive and illegal content, you can report it to the eSafety Commissioner.
The eSafety Commissioner works with the global INHOPE network to achieve rapid take down of child abuse material hosted overseas, and cooperates closely with Australian law enforcement when child abuse material is hosted in Australia.
Report inappropriate, offensive or illegal content here
Removal of content considered to be image-based abuse
Image-based abuse occurs when intimate, nude or sexual images are distributed without the consent of the person pictured. This includes real, altered and drawn pictures and videos. The sharing of intimate images without consent can have serious consequences.
The eSafety Commissioner has a range of powers to help with the removal of intimate images or videos and, in some cases, take civil action against the person who shared the content without consent.
The eSafety Commissioner also has an online portal to assist Australians who have been impacted by image-based abuse.
Creating, possessing and/or sharing sexualised images of people under 18 years can be a criminal offence and can be considered child abuse material. If the matter involves someone under 18 years of age, you can make a report to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.
Reports made to the eSafety Commissioner may also be referred to the police for possible investigation.
Cyberbullying
The eSafety Commissioner operates a complaints scheme to tackle serious cyberbullying affecting an Australian child. Working with social media companies, they have powers to assist the rapid removal of material when it is seriously threatening, seriously humiliating, seriously harassing, or seriously intimidating.
Other online crime
ReportCyber is a national online system to securely report instances of cybercrime. It also provides advice to help people recognise and avoid common types of cybercrime.
In Australia, cybercrime refers to:
- Crimes committed directly against computers and computer systems
- The use of technology to commit or facilitate the commission of traditional crimes.
This could include crimes such as fraud, scams and harassment. Report to ReportCyber in the first instance, or your local police.
ScamWatch is run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). It provides information to consumers and small businesses about how to recognise, avoid and report scams.