Does AU OSA BOSE Determination 2022, Section 11(3) apply to my service?

It applies when Service allows user-generated content; Service enables direct messaging between users; Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18.

From when does this apply?

AU OSA BOSE Determination 2022, Section 11(3) applies from 23 January 2022. Its current status is: in force.

AU OSA · AU-OSA-ENCRYPTION-CHILD-SAFETY

AU OSA BOSE Determination 2022, Section 11(3)

Ensure child safety measures remain effective even where end-to-end encryption is deployed

CRITICALRequirementData processingBinding regulationIn forceApplies from 23 January 2022

Where this comes from

Provision: BOSE Determination 2022, Section 11(3); Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018

Instrument: Australia Online Safety Act 2021 - Basic Online Safety Expectations

Citation: Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), s 45; Online Safety (Basic Online Safety Expectations) Determination 2022, s 11(3); Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 (Cth)

Text version: Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth), current compilation incl. Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024; BOSE Determination 2022 (as amended 2024)

Read the official text ↗

Who it applies to

It applies when all of these are true:

Service allows user-generated content
Service enables direct messaging between users
Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18

What engineering work it implies

Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:

Reasonable steps to detect and remove child sexual exploitation material are maintained even on end-to-end encrypted surfaces
Alternative safety measures (e.g., on-device detection, metadata analysis) are implemented where content scanning is not possible
Encryption is not used as a justification for failing to take reasonable child-safety steps; the rationale is documented
Detections, reports to authorities, and safety-measure effectiveness are logged for the eSafety Commissioner
System handles null/empty input gracefully (no 500 errors)

Questions people ask

Does AU OSA BOSE Determination 2022, Section 11(3) apply to my service?: It applies when Service allows user-generated content; Service enables direct messaging between users; Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18.
From when does this apply?: AU OSA BOSE Determination 2022, Section 11(3) applies from 23 January 2022. Its current status is: in force.

Find out whether this one lands on you

Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.

Run the pre-scan All AU OSA obligations

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