Key Points
- An Australian Muslim advocacy group has launched a complaint to Queensland's Human Rights Commission against Twitter over failing to remove more than 400 pieces of alleged Islamophobic content.
- According to the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN), a far-right conspiracy group has posted a range of hateful commentary about Muslims being "an existential threat" to the world.
An Australian Muslim advocacy group has taken action against Twitter, alleging the social media giant failed to remove more than 400 examples of content from its platform that showed "a pattern of hatred" towards the Muslim community.
The Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN) lodged a complaint to Queensland's Human Rights Commission on Friday, accusing Twitter of being responsible for a far-right conspiracy group posting a range of Islamophobic commentary about Muslims being "an existential threat" to the world.
AMAN said these beliefs are drawn from theories that incited the , and the 2011 Oslo terrorist attack, killing 77.
Other comments posted include "Islam means war", motivations to "ban Islam forever", likening the religion to cancer to "spread and kill the body", claiming all Muslims are terrorists, and stating the world is "f---ed unless "drastic action" is taken.
"It's all the same narrative that we've seen in terrorist manifestos and it's being spread through these disinformation operations," AMAN legal adviser Rita Jabri Markwell told SBS News.
AMAN said on three occasions in 2021, it reported 419 pieces of content published by "certain accounts that were inciting hatred, severe ridicule or serious contempt for the Muslim community". In July 2021, Twitter confirmed to the group it would not be removing any of the reported accounts or comments, and that the accounts were "consistent with their policies".
In line with the High Court's landmark ruling last year, social media companies are liable as publishers for content posted by third parties on their platforms. Earlier this month, the for failing to remove defamatory content about him on YouTube.
This is the second time AMAN has lodged a complaint in Queensland, with former senator Fraser Anning ordered by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal to remove 141 hateful posts in 2021 after posting content deemed to incite hatred. Of those, 55 were published on Twitter and were not taken down until legal orders were made.
Twitter's Hateful Conduct policy states that a user "may not promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of ... religious affiliation".
"We are committed to combating abuse motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance, particularly abuse that seeks to silence the voices of those who have been historically marginalized," according to its policy.
But AMAN has argued that Twitter's community guidelines do not match the human rights granted to Australians set out in section 124A of the state's Anti-Discrimination Act.
Ms Jabri Markwell said that gap places an "unfair burden" on marginalised communities to claim justice for their rights.
"It places a really harmful burden on the community's shoulders and we are arguing the harm is created by their product, their platform. They should be responsible for fixing it."
SBS News contacted Twitter for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Ms Jabri Markwell said that "it's painful" to seek recourse for Australian Muslims when it should automatically be afforded to them through existing laws, such as the Online Safety Act.
"It's cruel for Twitter to require people who are targeted by hatred to be the ones who have to read through it and collate the evidence to beg for action to be taken," she said.
AMAN last Friday requested a meeting with the new Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, to push for vilification to be included in online safety legislation.
