Australia’s eSafety Commissioner launched legal action against Twitter on Thursday demanding information about the platform’s strategies to combat online hate. The move comes in response to a significant increase in complaints regarding online hate on Twitter, particularly following the acquisition of the company by Elon Musk in October 2022.

The eSafety Commission is responsible for regulating online platforms under the Online Safety Act. While hate speech is not specifically included in the act’s language, certain instances of hate speech may fall under its cyber abuse provisions.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant pointed out that while Twitter’s terms of use and policies prohibit hateful conduct on the platform. That said, the eSafety Commission has received an increasing number of complaints amid continued visibility of hateful content. Grant said that this indicates a failure on the part of Twitter to effectively enforce their own rules.

In a statement, Grant said, “eSafety research shows that nearly 1 in 5 Australians have experienced some form of online hate. This level of online abuse is already inexcusably high, but if you’re a First Nations Australian, you are disabled or identify as LGBTIQ+ you experience online hate at double the rate of the rest of the population.” She suggested that Twitter’s current trajectory of openness appears to fuel that animosity. 

The eSafety Commissioner’s notice to Twitter reflects concerns about rising toxicity and hate towards marginalized communities on the platform. GLAAD designated Twitter as the most hateful platform towards the LGBTQ+ community. Research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found increased slurs targeting African Americans on Twitter after Musk’s acquisition.

In November 2022, after one month of his leadership, Musk revealed that 62,000 previously banned Twitter accounts had been restored. This group comprised wealthy and less well-known accounts that had been banned due to instances of hate speech during the previous Twitter board of directors’ tenure.

Twitter has 28 days to comply with the eSafety Commissioner’s legal notice. If they fail to do so, Twitter could face daily fines of close to $700,000 for continuous violations.