Online safety advocates front media probe

Advocates who overturned laws gagging sexual assault survivors from speaking out will tell federal MPs how to make social media safer.

A parliamentary committee on online safety will on Wednesday hear from the Let Her Speak campaign, as well as the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, as it inquires into how tech giants keep people safe.

Human rights advocate Nyadol Nyuon and disability activist Carly Findlay will also front the hearing.

The inquiry heard on Tuesday that social media platforms have been used by predators to target young children, and tech giants were unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement due to concerns about privacy.

Child safety advocate Sonya Ryan warned of threats posed by social media. Her daughter Carly was murdered in 2007 by serial pedophile Garry Francis Newman, who befriended the 15-year-old online.

The inquiry comes as the federal government pushes for tighter social media regulations and new laws to hold tech giants to account.

The proposed laws will force social media platforms to take down offending posts and provide the identity of anonymous posters in some circumstances.

The inquiry will run for three months over summer with a final report due in mid-February.