Apple and Google have removed video chat app OmeTV from their Australian app stores, following a warning from the eSafety Commissioner.
OmeTV connects strangers (both adults and children) for video and text chats.
eSafety alleged predators were using the app to groom and sexually exploit children.
OmeTV can still be accessed from web browsers in Australia.
Context
OmeTV is similar to now-defunct platform Omegle, which shut down in 2023. Omegle randomly connected anonymous strangers in one-on-one online chats and videos.
In August, eSafety issued a formal warning to OmeTV’s Portuguese parent company ‘Bad Kitty’s Dad’, alleging it did not have strong enough protections for children using the site.
Your contribution ensures The Daily Aus can continue doing the work you love.
I want to give $10 monthly to help TDA keep doing the news.
Your details:
After receiving the warning, the company “entirely failed to engage with eSafety,” according to Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.
Takedown
After OmeTV’s parent company failed to respond to the warning, Inman Grant wrote to Apple and Google “to remind them of their own obligations”.
Under Australian law, providers must remove child exploitation material from their services, and proactively review apps’ content and safety protections.
This week, both Apple and Google removed OmeTV from their app stores.
Inman Grant described OmeTV as a “deeply risky app that… led to grooming and sexual exploitation of Australian children”.
