Google, Meta and others face tough questions in Australia over cyber extremism threats
By KEIRAN SMITH
Associated Press
SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s online safety regulator has put social media giants on notice, requiring them to explain what they are doing to to protect people from violent extremists and terrorists. The country’s eSafety regulator announced Tuesday that it had issued legal notices to Google, Meta, X, WhatsApp, Telegram and Reddit requiring each company to report on steps they are taking to protect Australian users of their platforms from extremist material online. Accessing violent and extremist content on social media has been blamed for the radicalization of the perpetrators of the 2019 Christchurch mosques shootings and at a supermarket in Buffalo in New York in 2022.