SYDNEY, May 10 (Reuters) - Australia announced on Friday

that it would hold a parliamentary inquiry to look into the

negative impacts of social media platforms, saying they have

significant reach and control over what Australians see online,

with almost no scrutiny.

The government has criticised social media platforms for not

being quick enough to remove violent posts and seeks more

oversight over content posted on Meta's Facebook,

ByteDance's TikTok and Elon Musk-owned X.

"Across a range of issues, whether it be the issue of

domestic violence, whether it be the radicalisation of our young

people, across a range of areas, something that keeps popping up

over and over again is the role of social media," Prime Minister

Anthony Albanese told reporters.

"(They) can be very positive but also can have a negative

influence which is there."

Albanese's Labor government is already in a legal fight with

Musk's X over a regulatory order asking the platform to take

down videos of the stabbing attack on an Assyrian church bishop

in Sydney last month.

X said it has blocked the posts for Australian users, but

Australia's e-Safety Commissioner says the content should be

taken down for all users since it shows explicit violence. Musk

has posted memes criticising Albanese, describing the

government's decision as censorship.

The joint parliamentary select committee will also check

Meta's decision to withdraw from paying for news in Australia.

Meta declined to comment on the inquiry.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said Parliament

needed to understand how social media companies "dial up and

down the content that supports healthy democracies, as well as

the anti-social content that undermines public safety."

"This inquiry will provide opportunity and resources for

parliamentarians to closely scrutinise these companies and make

recommendations on how we can make these platforms accountable

for their decisions," Rowland said.

The government said it was still determining the terms and

scope of the inquiry and did not specify who it would ask to

testify. Some Australian parliamentary inquiries have powers to

summon individuals to hearings.