Jewish MP slams social media giants for antisemitic comments response

Federal MP Josh Burns slams social media giants for antisemitism response at royal commission Tue 30 Jun 2026 at 12:11pm In short: A Jewish federal Victorian MP targeted with antisemitism has called for stronger laws to address online hate. Josh Burns says he was abused online within hours of his electorate office being vandalised. He says in the absence of action by social media platforms, the eSafety commissioner's powers must be bolstered to protect users. A federal Victorian MP who has been the target of antisemitic attacks has called for tougher laws against vilification because social media platforms are failing to adequately respond to online hate. Josh Burns, who is Jewish, travelled to Sydney to appear at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion on Tuesday, which has this week heard from victims of hate speech on social media. The inquiry was shown an image of the aftermath of an attack on Mr Burns's electorate office in Melbourne's St Kilda in June 2024, where a hammer to used to smash windows. Horns were painted over an image of Mr Burns, residents in the above apartments were evacuated, and nearby businesses were without internet for a week due to damage at the office. Mr Burns said offensive comments were posted online within hours of the attack, with the commission shown posts which blamed the MP for it. "This could all end tomorrow though if Josh Burns resigned from parliament. In that sense he's responsible for these attacks and is using his staff as a human shields," one post from the time stated. Mr Burns told the inquiry he could "dust off" the abuse directed at himself, but it was "devastating" to see loved ones like his partner and Victorian state MP Georgie Purcell, who is not Jewish, subjected to the same harassment. He said the online hate against Ms Purcell was often sexualised and misogynistic in nature. "It's a weird feeling that your partner has to take abuse because they're in a relationship with you,"he said. "Why should she have to deal with that? "Even just speaking out [against the abuse] she will attract an avalanche of hate and misogyny." Mr Burns said there should be a serious vilification offence to protect Australians with careful consideration given to its implementation, and how it could maintain consistency across jurisdictions. In a submission to the royal commission, Mr Burns's Labor colleague and former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said it was clear laws against hate speech or vilification based on a range of attributes, including race, were not adequate. "In January of this year, there was intense debate about the extension of hate speech laws," Mr Dreyfus, who is Jewish, said in his submission. "The government was able to legislate a new prohibited hate groups framework … I believe that further extension of hate speech laws is needed to create a broader offence that does not require elements of violence or threatening force." Difficulties with social media companies Mr Burns said his office had reported about 40 offensive posts to Facebook and Instagram since November 2021, with just three removed from the platforms. "You lose faith in the reporting processes," he said. "I certainly don't report everything I would otherwise because I don't think anything is going to be done about it." He said platforms appeared to funnel his content to those who were most likely to reply with offensive comments. "How social media companies have been able to get away with it for so long is beyond me,"he said. The MP said in the absence of action by social media platforms, the eSafety commissioner's powers must be bolstered to effectively respond to online hate speech. He said under the current Online Safety Act, the eSafety commissioner was empowered to remove digital content that was menacing, harassing or offensive, and intended to cause serious harm to individuals in Australia. But he says the act provides no mechanism through which the commissioner can remove online content which targets minority groups generally and does not single out any individual. Mr Burns said often the only way to reduce hate speech on his social media accounts was to prevent people from commenting at all, which did not support a healthy democracy.