Queensland Tribunal Rules Social Media Platform X Must Comply With State Hate Speech Laws

In a landmark verdict, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) ruled that social media platform X can be held legally accountable for the breach of hate speech laws.

The tribunal dismissed a contention by X, formerly known as Twitter, that as it was not a resident of the state, it should not be subject to its anti-discrimination laws. The tribunal ruled that the social media platform will be covered by the state's laws, though it was based in the U.S.

In July 2022, the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN) lodged a lawsuit against X after the social media platform refused to remove hateful comments from a far-right conspiracy blog. AMAN complained against 29 tweets vilifying the Muslim community and calling them an existential threat to the world, ABC News reported.

AMAN's legal advisor Rita Jabri Markwell said the judgment will set a precedent. "The significance of this decision is that we now know that local hate speech laws do apply to social media companies," she said. "Usually people will bring vilification complaints against other individuals. But now they can take direct action against the companies that are profiting from that hate."

The tweets targeting Muslims were posted following the attacks on two mosques at Christchurch in 2019 killing 51 persons. The attacker, an Australian, was reportedly motivated by white nationalism.

X ignored requests from AMAN to remove or block the tweets locally. Some of the tweets were denigrating comments about Labor Senator Fatima Payman, the first hijab-wearing elected member in the federal parliament, The Brisbane Times reported.

Dismissing X's argument, senior member Ann Fitzpatrick of QCAT ruled, "X Corp is present in Queensland because it provides a service in Queensland and in my view carries on business in Queensland. Second, the impugned conduct took place in Queensland whether one terms the impugned conduct an 'effect' or actual conduct."

The tribunal stated it will direct on how the ruling should be enforced.