Antisemitism royal commission live updates: TikTok, YouTube representatives set to appear

8.23am

TikTok execs travel from New York to appear before commission

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TikTok is taking the royal commission seriously. The first witness Zachary Hecht, TikTok’s global head of policy, trust and safety, is New York-based but has told the inquiry that he specifically travelled to Sydney to voluntarily provide evidence.

Its approach is very different from some other US-based social media companies, with which the commission has tried to engage.

In the first week of this block of hearings, counsel assisting Richard Lancaster said platforms X and Telegram had refused to engage with the inquiry, while the far-right Gab network had been “openly hostile”.

“It has become increasingly apparent that the online environment and social media platforms in particular are perhaps the most significant vector for the spread of antisemitism and hate in the community,” Lancaster told the commission last week.