A regulator with takedown power gives families real recourse — report harmful content and have it removed, not just block it yourself.
The situation, the move, the outcome.
Australia created the world's first government eSafety Commissioner — a regulator that gives kids and parents a place to report cyberbullying and image-based abuse, plus the legal power to compel platforms to remove it. Under the Online Safety Act, eSafety has investigated thousands of cyberbullying complaints and made hundreds of removal requests, and it has completed more than 16,000 child-exploitation investigations, with 99% referred to the international INHOPE network for rapid removal.
Why it matters beyond one family.
The model matters because it shifts the burden off the individual victim: instead of begging a platform, families have a regulator that can require action. Other countries are studying the approach.
How to apply it.
- Know whether your country has a reporting body with takedown authority.
- Document and report harmful content rather than only blocking it yourself.
- Teach teens that formal reporting routes exist and work.
Concrete next steps.
- In Australia, report to eSafety.gov.au; in the US, use NCMEC's CyberTipline.
- Keep evidence (screenshots, URLs) to support a removal request.
- Combine reporting with platform tools and, for sextortion, the FBI.
Read it for yourself.
- eSafety Commissioner — putting new tools to work esafety.gov.au ↗
- eSafety Commissioner — report cyberbullying esafety.gov.au ↗
- eSafety Commissioner — report online harm esafety.gov.au ↗
If your teen is being sextorted: do not pay, do not delete anything, and stop all contact with the offender. Save the messages and usernames. Report to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI and to NCMEC's CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org. Use NCMEC's free Take It Down tool (takeitdown.ncmec.org) to stop images from spreading. For emotional crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24/7).