AFL stars Adam Goodes and Tayla Harris invited to speak at new social media inquiry

AFL stars Adam Goodes and Tayla Harris will be invited to share their experience of online abuse at an inquiry into social media companies.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is on a crusade against Big Tech, will on Wednesday announce a parliamentary probe into online harms caused by social media.

Sites including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok will all be targeted in the inquiry, with a particular focus on children’s safety.

The inquiry will be similar to previous hearings in the US and Britain, examining how social media companies work and whether they need to do more to stamp out racism, sexism, bullying and hate speech.

Daily Mail Australia understands Goodes and Harris are on a list of stars the government will approach to see if they want to provide evidence.

Harris suffered horrific sexist abuse online in March 2019 when a photo of her kicking a goal attracted hundreds of vile comments.

‘Some of the comments made me feel physically sick. They are as disgusting as your wildest imagination,’ she told the 7.30 report last year.  

Goodes suffered ‘appalling’ racist abuse online after retiring from AFL in 2015 following two years of booing from fans for his outspokenness on racial issues.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will also be invited to take part.

Adam Goodes and wife Natalie are pictured in 2019

In a hearing in the US in October, the former Facebook employee alleged the social media giant fueled division, harmed children and urgently needed to be regulated.

‘I believe that Facebook’s products harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy,’ Ms Haugen told a US Senate panel.

In her testimony, Ms Haugen said there was a risk Facebook’s platforms were fueling a contagion of eating disorders, body-shaming and self-dissatisfaction that was particularly dangerous for young people.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his account that her claim the company prioritised profit over safety was ‘just not true.’ 

In a 2018 headspace survey of over 4,000 young people aged 12 to 25, social media was nominated as the main reason youth mental health was getting worse. 

Mr Morrison said: ‘Mums and dads are rightly concerned about whether Big Tech is doing enough to keep their kids safe online. 

‘Big Tech created these platforms, they have a responsibility to ensure their users are safe.’

He said the government wanted to ‘hear from parents, teachers, athletes, small businesses and more, about their experience, and what needs to change.’

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention David Coleman said: ‘We can’t trust social media companies to act in the best interests of children, so we’re going to force them to.’ 

The inquiry will start in December and produce a final report on February 20. 

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (pictured) will also be invited to take part

Mr Morrison (pictured on Tuesday) is on a crusade against Big Tech and social media platforms

Mr Morrison, who last year passed laws to make Google and Facebook pay media companies for using their news stories, will also on Wednesday release proposed laws to make social media companies ‘unmask’ anonymous trolls.  

Under the planned legislation, social media companies themselves would be responsible for defamatory content unless they hand over a user’s identity to the alleged victim of the trolling. 

The move will require social media companies to verify the legal names of every user in Australia.