Security News > 2023 > June > Australia plans to mandate file scanning for all tech companies

Through them, any tech company doing business with Australians will be required to actively scan their emails, online photo libraries, cloud storage accounts and dating sites for illegal content.

Part of the Commissioner's role has been to create and enforce a framework whereby illegal or damaging material can be removed at the eSafety Commissioner's request.

To help facilitate this, the eSafety Commissioner tasked the Australian IT industry with developing a proposal to combat illegal content.

Tech companies will not be expected to manually scan each piece of content.

Given the damage that even being accused of distributing child abuse material can do to a person, there is a real concern about what tech companies passing flagged content to the authorities can do to innocent people.

While the eSafety Commissioner can only regulate the interaction of technology with Australian citizens, these laws may force global companies to change their approach at a systemic level, and this could cause a new wave of debate around digital rights globally.

News URL

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/au-esafety-commissioner-mandate-file-scanning/