Australia has handed X a fine for failing to sufficiently answer questions relating to the social media company’s policy on child abuse content.

On Sunday, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant sent X a fine totaling 610,500 Australian dollars, or $380,000 in U.S. currency.

“Twitter/X has stated publicly that tackling child sexual exploitation is the number 1 priority for the company,” she said in a statement. “But it can’t just be empty talk; we need to see words backed up with tagine action.”

The fine was issued under Australia’s Online Safety Act of 2021, which requires platforms to crack down on abusive content and report their findings to the commission. X has 28 days to respond or pay the fine.

The commission sent inquiries concerning child abuse policies to major tech companies back in February. According to the commission, X’s reply was inadequate and missing key information. Apparently, the company failed to provide information on how many workers are tasked with policing child abuse content, how it detects the content and how long it takes for abusive content to be flagged and removed.

The fine comes as international regulators try to clamp down on various content on social media platforms. Last week, EU regulators issued a formal information request to X over its alleged hosting of “illegal” Israel-Hamas content.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.