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Tech Giants Grilled Over Hate Speech

WireByte Staff · July 6, 2026

Social media and streaming platforms face scrutiny over hate speech moderation, with a senior Kick staff member unable to definitively say if describing Jews as 'evil rats and subhumans' breaches guidelines

Key points

  • Kick, a live-streaming platform with over 100 million users, has looser content moderation than Amazon-owned Twitch
  • A senior Kick staff member, Tiat Oon Ooi, was unsure if describing Jews as 'evil rats and subhumans' would breach the platform's guidelines
  • The company's general counsel acknowledged that identifying hate speech is 'more art than science'
  • Counsel for Jewish community groups grilled tech companies over their content moderation during a royal commission into anti-Semitism
  • The most egregious examples of hate speech, like calls to violence, are obvious, but other cases may be more nuanced
  • The scrutiny highlights the challenges tech companies face in balancing free speech with hate speech moderation

Social media and streaming giants have come under fire for their handling of hate speech on their platforms. During a royal commission into anti-Semitism, a senior staff member at Kick, a live-streaming platform with over 100 million users, was unable to definitively say if describing Jews as 'evil rats and subhumans' would breach the platform's guidelines. The company's general counsel, Tiat Oon Ooi, acknowledged that identifying hate speech is a complex task, describing it as 'more art than science'. Counsel for Jewish community groups pressed tech companies on their content moderation, highlighting the need for more effective measures to tackle hate speech. The scrutiny highlights the challenges tech companies face in balancing free speech with hate speech moderation, and the need for clearer guidelines and more effective enforcement.

Sources

WireByte Staff — Editorial Team

The WireByte editorial team synthesises technology news from multiple primary sources, verifies the facts, and links every source. Articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed under our editorial policy.