eSafety Commissioner issues formal warning over Chatroulette style app

Popular social media platform OmeTV is the subject of a formal warning issued by Australia's eSafety Commissioner, with parent company ‘Bad Kitty’s Dad, LDA’ cited for alleged breaches of the Relevant Electronic Services (RES) industry standard.

This is the first enforcement action under Australia’s Industry Codes and Standards.

OmeTV is said to have failed in providing required safety features and settings, allowing adults to have randomised video chats with children without sufficient protections.

The platform functions in a similar way to the iconic Chatroulette, the notorious social video platform that facilitated random chats with strangers. A 2010 study by RJMetrics found that 89% of single people chatting on Chatroulette were male and that one in eight random chats would reveal something "x-rated or worse." Chatroulette is still in use today, however the platform peaked culturally just after it launched in 2009.

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has written to Apple and Google to notify them of the enforcement action taken, while also issuing a reminder of their obligations under the App Store Code.

“We know that this service is popular with children and for this reason it’s also popular with adults seeking to sexually prey on them,” Ms Inman Grant said.

“These are not fringe services. OmeTV is currently the 11th most popular social networking app on the Apple App Store and the 9th most popular free social app on the Google Play store.

“Stranger danger used to mean warning kids not to talk to people they didn’t know on the way home from school. Today, randomised video chat apps like OmeTV allow those same predatory strangers to anonymously manipulate, coerce and groom children through devices in the privacy of their bedrooms.

“Many Australians might ask why apps like this are freely available on the mainstream app stores, without appropriate restrictions or protections. This is why, as part of this action, I have also written to Apple and Google to highlight our enforcement action and to highlight the dangers of apps like this as well as reinforcing their own obligations under Australian law to protect children.

“The ultimate goal is to encourage individual services and the online industry as a whole, to lift their game and prioritise safety.”

Under the Online Safety Act 2021, eSafety is empowered with additional enforcement capabilities, such as seeking civil penalties of up to $49.5 million.