This phase of the inquiry is examining how the risks posed by violence-fixated individuals can be managed, and the role the internet and social media play in influencing and enabling them.
Nicholas Moss KC, counsel to the inquiry, said: “The report outlines the result of a single eight-hour search across a selection of online platforms including X, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram and Discord.
“It is right to recognise that there was a spectrum of material of concern.
“It ranges from material with violent overtones, but which might be argued to be newsworthy, to material which can fairly be categorised as very violent or strong gore material.”
Moss said 98.9% of the material was publicly accessible and 92.3% was not subject to any age restrictions.
All of the material was reported to the platforms, but a week later 87.9% of it remained live, the inquiry heard.
Moss said 14 days after it had been reported, 83.8% of the content was still available.
He said the platform providers would be asked about the report and “what appears to be, in some cases, arguable delay and failures to remove the material even when it had been reported to them”.
Representatives of platforms, including TikTok, Reddit, X and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, are expected to give evidence to the inquiry in November.
