Who Watches the Watcher? The Expanding Powers of the eSafety Commissioner
When the U16 Social Media Ban was passed in September 2024, most headlines focused on age limits. But the law also expanded the authority of one office — the eSafety Commissioner.
For most Australians, this role is little known. Yet the Commissioner now wields some of the broadest powers of any digital regulator in the democratic world. It’s worth asking: who holds her accountable?
The Role of the eSafety Commissioner
The office was created under the Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015, later expanded through the Online Safety Act 2021. Its stated mission is to protect Australians from harmful online content — especially children.
But the powers go far beyond flagging harmful videos or blocking bullying. The Commissioner can:
Order platforms to remove content deemed harmful or illegal, with penalties up to $555,000 for individuals and $2.75 million for companies.
Approve or reject industry codes under the Online Safety Act. These codes determine how platforms verify users, restrict access and moderate content.
Replace codes with binding standards if industry fails to meet her expectations. These standards are enforceable by law.
Compel information from companies — requiring them to hand over documents, data, or internal systems for inspection.
See eSafety’s explainer on industry codes.
Jurisdiction Over Every Australian
The eSafety Commissioner’s reach isn’t limited to global platforms like Meta or TikTok. Her powers extend over:
Any service accessible in Australia, from small community forums to major social networks.
Any Australian resident, including parents, teachers, content creators and ordinary users.
Material hosted overseas — the Commissioner can issue takedown notices to foreign companies if content is accessible here.
In practice, this gives one unelected official the ability to decide what Australians can post, access and share online.
The U16 Ban Expands This Power
The Social Media Minimum Age law doesn’t just stop under-16s from joining platforms. It requires new age assurance systems across the board. And it is the eSafety Commissioner who decides if those systems are “good enough.”
That means:
She can reject industry codes that don’t meet her standard.
If she rejects them, she can impose her own standards, binding on every platform and user.
These standards can cover how Australians prove their age, what services are restricted, and what access is cut off.
It is an extraordinary jurisdiction over the everyday digital lives of Australians.
A Global Outlier
In most democracies, online safety is overseen by a mix of regulators, courts and independent watchdogs. Australia has concentrated this power into a single office.
In France, age assurance proposals were stalled by CNIL, the independent data privacy regulator.
In Germany, enforcement is shared between courts and state regulators.
In the US and Canada, online harms are debated in Congress and Parliament, not decided by one commissioner.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner now sits almost alone among Western regulators in the scope of unilateral authority.
Why It Matters
This is not just about protecting kids. It’s about who gets to set the rules for digital life in Australia.
When one official has the power to:
Decide which codes are accepted
Impose standards if she doesn’t agree
Demand compliance from global companies and local users
Shape access to online services through enforcement
…it places enormous control in one office, with limited democratic oversight.
It’s evidently clear: The U16 Social Media Ban isn’t just about children. It expands the reach of the eSafety Commissioner into the daily online lives of every Australian. And once powers like these are granted, they rarely shrink back.
[Sign our petition] and stand with us to demand accountability before this office’s reach grows even further.