Police rarely alert safety commissioner to hate speech
Lucinda Garbutt-Young |
Police rarely communicate directly with the nation’s independent online safety regulator, resulting in knowledge gaps about hate speech, an inquiry has heard.
Appearing before a royal commission into anti-Semitism on Thursday, NSW Police assistant commissioner Leanne McCusker said her team at times worked directly with platforms for take-down orders.
It means eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant does not always receive information about online anti-Semitic trends from police.
Ms McCusker said she probably “needed to give consideration” to providing more regular information to the commissioner.
The Western Australian police force had attempted to draft a memorandum of understanding with the eSafety commission between 2022 and 2024, but it had stalled.
WA deputy commissioner Kylie Whitely said since then, the force did not meet regularly with Ms Inman Grant’s team and had not often contacted them about online hate.
“There’s much to be said in terms of sitting down, having regular conversations, and collaborating,” Ms Whitely said.
In Victoria, state police communicated with the e-safety commissioner on an “as needs basis”, which were generally crisis situations requiring the removal of a live stream, cybercrime detective Carl Keenan said.
The Australian Federal Police had only met with Ms Inman Grant on three occasions: 2021, 2023 and 2026, the royal commission was told.
Earlier, a prominent Jewish leader detailed the online abuse she had endured for her pro-Palestinian advocacy, including being branded a “traitor”.
Sarah Schwartz, director of the progressive Jewish Council of Australia, said political manipulation of the Bondi shooting had left Palestinian and Muslim communities as scapegoats.
Much of the post-Bondi discussion sought to place the source of anti-Semitism among migrant and religious communities, leaving them to bear the weight of others’ actions, she said.
“This sends a message not only to the broader Australian public, (but) to Palestinian and Muslim communities that they have to account for anti-Semitism in a way that no other community is asked to account for it,” she said.
The Jewish Council rejects anti-Semitism but says criticism of Israel, particularly the actions of its government, is not the same thing.
Ms Schwartz said her views on what constituted anti-Semitism had changed drastically as she learnt about Israel’s history.
“A lot of government and policy responses to anti-Semitism have focused on anti-Semitism as being primarily sourced within the Palestine solidarity movement,” she said.
“It’s incredibly dangerous for government responses to be focused on Palestinian and Muslim communities and responses.”
The third block of public hearings for the royal commission began on Monday with a focus on the treatment of Jewish people in mainstream and social media.
The ABC and SBS will appear later in the hearings, along with dozens of Jewish Australians who have been subject to online hate.
AAP