eSafety Commissioner Says Platforms Now Require Independent Verification Before Removing Violent Content

ESafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant testified Thursday that social media companies have reduced cooperation with her office on removing violent content when flagged, Abc reported. She said platforms previously confirmed blocking flagged URLs and variations but now require independent verification of violent content.

Grant told the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion that X Corp is fighting three different takedown orders, including footage of the killing of Charlie Kirk and the stabbing of a Ukrainian woman in the United States.

She said X Corp resisted removing post-mortem content from the Bondi massacre, comparing it to a gore movie. Grant also stated that Meta changed its policy from five strikes before suspension to 19 strikes. She linked the shift to Meta's early 2025 decision to roll back its online hate and fact-checking policies, which she said was followed by reduced staffing in trust and safety teams.

The commission also heard from Sarah Schwartz, executive director of the Jewish Council of Australia, who described receiving messages from neo-Nazi and pro-Israel groups calling her self-hating and a traitor, along with circulated images depicting her as a rat.

Schwartz said she contacted Victoria Police over concerns that far-right groups had obtained her personal information, after which police applied for a personal protection order on her behalf without her knowledge. Australian Federal Police counter-terror commander Stephen Nutt said senior officers have met with the eSafety Commissioner only three times and called for more collaboration.