Australia: Muslims accuse Twitter of failing to take action against accounts that incite hatred

The Muslim community living in Australia has accused Twitter of failing to take action against accounts that incite hatred on its platform.

Citing a manifesto of the extremist who killed 77 people in Norway in 2011, an advocacy group for the community has lodged a complaint against Twitter with the Queensland Human Rights Commission.

The group has claimed that as a publisher Twitter is responsible for content posted by a far-right account related to the incident in Norway.

Comments on the account include Islam as “the most violent and sexually perverse cult”, “Ramadan means killing infidels” and alleges that Qur’an should be referred to as the “terrorist handbook”.

These comments have not been taken down by Twitter despite several requests and the Muslim community in Australia has called the platform discriminatory for refusing to take action against hateful content.

In response to the community's requests, Twitter said the far-right account was assessed to be “consistent with their policies”.

''We were engaging with Twitter for over a year with really shocking examples. Pictures of Muslim men with guns being shoved into their mouths and pictures of Muslims depicted as monkeys and cavemen chasing people with knives,'' Rita Jabri Markwell, a lawyer for the network told 'The Guardian'.

“We want Twitter to take responsibility for their platform. It shouldn’t be left up to ordinary people to monitor their platform for them,” she added.

In a verdict last year, Australia’s high court found media companies could be liable for third-party comments on their social media posts in the landmark Dylan Voller case.

(With inputs from agencies)

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