Office of the eSafety Commissioner

Serious online abuse is when the internet is used to send, post, or share content that is likely to harm the physical or mental health of the person targeted.

This includes:

• cyberbullying of a child or young person (under 18)

• adult cyber abuse (18 years and older)

• image-based abuse (sharing, or threatening to share, an intimate image or video without the consent of the person shown)

The harmful content could be a post, comment, text, message, chat, livestream, meme, image, video or email. It can be sent or shared via an online or electronic service or platform, including a:

• social media service

• email service

• chat app

• interactive online game

• forum

• website

Illegal and restricted online content ranges from seriously harmful material such as images and videos showing the sexual abuse of children or acts of terrorism, through to content which should be not be accessed by children, such as simulated sexual activity, detailed nudity, or high impact violence.