Representatives of dating apps will meet with the Australian federal government to discuss security measures and areas for potential law reform amid reports about high rates of assaults on the platforms.
It comes as the government ramped up its online safety laws which will allow the eSafety Commission to regulate illegal and restricted content no matter where it’s hosted including on online app distribution services and search engines.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, who has the power to determine the expectations for certain online services, will meet with dating app operators in early 2023.
She noted that online safety had become a growing community concern.
“Every Australian deserves to live free from harassment and all forms of violence, including those using dating apps,” she said.
“The government expects dating apps and websites to do all they can to keep their users safe, such as providing easy-to-use reporting processes, support for victims of abuse, processes and policies that hold perpetrators accountable, and incorporating safety by design processes.”
The move comes after a report released in early October by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) showed three in every four survey respondents had been subjected to sexual violence facilitated via dating apps in the past five years.
The study, which surveyed 9,987 dating app or website users in Australia, also found that a third experienced in-person abuse from someone they met on a dating app or website.This included sexual assault or coercion, reproductive and sexual-health-related abuse and in-person image-based sexual abuse.
