Source : Perth Now news
Multiple social media platforms including X have refused to engage with the hate inquiry established after the Bondi attacks.
The Royal Commission on anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion resumed on Monday for its third block of hearings after receiving more than 20,000 submissions.
The commission recommenced in Sydney following hearings in May and heard information regarding the policing and intelligence gathering processes before the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in December 2025.
Much of the previous hearing block was held in secret, with concerns for national security.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt told the commission in May there was “no doubt” Australia had seen an “escalation” in anti-Semitism, with the law enforcement organisation receiving about 166 reports of alleged crimes since December 2024.
On Monday, the inquiry switched focus to the extent of anti-Semitism across social media and within traditional Australian media.
“It has become increasingly apparent that the online environment and social media platforms in particular, are perhaps the most significant vector for the spread of anti-Semitism and hate in the community,” counsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC said.
He advised many social media organisations, including Google, Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok had been forthcoming with the commission; however, several platforms refused to engage with the inquiry.
‘I do not answer to Australian bureaucrats’
Mr Lancaster said the commission had received no response from X Corp or Telegram, and only a limited and generic response from popular platforms Reddit and Twitch.
The counsellor told the commission American social networking and blogging app Gab Social, who described themselves as “the home of free speech and the parallel economy”, were outwardly “hostile” when approached.
Mr Lancaster said a person who claimed to be a lawyer for the platform wrote to the commission claiming, “Gab is an American company, run by American citizen and will publish whatever it likes, whenever it likes”.
A post by Gab CEO Andrew Torba on X read: “I do not answer to Australian bureaucrats, and Gab does not answer to state sponsored censors”.
“A recent observation of the Director-General of security, Mike Burgess … reflects a broad consensus of expert evidence received by the royal commission that the online environment can be a potent driver of radicalisation,” Mr Lancaster noted in his address to the commission.
“Mr Burgess said this: ‘Whether online or in the real world, when intolerance is tolerated, when violent language and violent acts are left unchecked, they become normalised, reinforcing the impression they are acceptable and compounding the likelihood of further violence’.”
The commission will hear evidence from prominent online figures in the Australian Jewish community including Arsen Ostrovsky – who attended the Bondi Channukah celebrations in December last year and was the target of a deep fake campaign.
They will also investigate the traditional media landscape, including the public broadcasters coverage of the Middle East conflict.
The commission’s final report is due to be handed down in December, a year on from the Bondi attack.
More to come
