eSafety chief hints at departure as regulator grapples with tech power imbalance
Federal eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said she may step down when her term ends in early 2027, citing the need for fresh leadership amid growing tech-regulation challenges.
During a Brisbane briefing on new digital-abuse grants, Federal eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant signaled she could leave the post when her term concludes at the start of 2027, arguing that a decade in office warrants new leadership. She described the international tech-regulation landscape as increasingly geopolitical, with a stark power imbalance favoring global tech giants over modest Australian regulators. While ruling out policing AI chatbots through the under-16 social-media ban, she called on the Albanese government to tighten one outlet framework.
Grant, who began her first five-year term in 2017 and was reappointed in 2022, spoke alongside ministers Tanya Plibersek and Anika Wells about 12 funded projects targeting technology-facilitated abuse, especially against women and children. The initiative will allocate $3.5 million to equip women and girls with skills to recognise and respond to online harm, with additional resources for programs supporting positive digital experiences for boys and young men.
Why it matters
Leadership change at the eSafety Commission could shape Australia's approach to regulating powerful tech firms and protecting users online.
In this story
