Fight Over Video Takedown Involving Musk’s X Escalates to Court Battle
The eSafety commissioner had ordered the removal of the footage, but X’s response was to block the video for Australian IP addresses, as revealed in court.
An Australian court has now directed billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform to block all users from viewing violent footage linked to a Sydney church stabbing, not just restricting access for Australians.
In the face of political consensus against X Corp’s refusal to remove potentially harmful content online, the nation’s internet regulator brought the issue to the Federal Court on Monday, April 22.
During an urgent hearing, a barrister representing the eSafety Commissioner highlighted that the “graphic and violent” video was still accessible on X, previously known as Twitter.
According to lawyer Christopher Tran, allowing the video to circulate further could result in “irreparable harm.”
Although the commissioner had requested the footage’s removal, X chose to block it only for Australian IP addresses, leaving it accessible to international users or Australians using an overseas virtual private network.
Christopher Tran stated, “That was a choice they could have done more,” and recommended that X should shield the footage from all users, not just Australians.
In anticipation of a debate regarding the United States’ free speech rights, Mr. Tran noted that this right might not apply when it comes to depicting violence.
Mr. Musk has labeled the eSafety commissioner the “Australian censorship commissar,” while his company raised concerns about free speech violations and jurisdictional issues regarding the takedown order.
X also criticized the internet regulator’s action as “unlawful and dangerous.”
The Global Government Affairs team at X argued in a post on April 20 that the videos requested for removal by the eSafety Commissioner did not violate X’s rules on violent speech.
The team added, “While X respects a country’s right to enforce its laws within its jurisdiction, the eSafety commissioner cannot dictate what content X’s users globally see. We will vigorously challenge this unlawful and dangerous approach in court.”
Marcus Hoyne, representing X Corp, requested the court to delay the matter until he could obtain instructions from the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.
Despite his appeal, Justice Geoffrey Kennett granted an interim order to suppress the footage for all X users at least until Wednesday afternoon, April 23.
The case is set to resume in court on Wednesday for further discussion about a permanent suppression order.
Previously, politicians offered critical opinions of Mr. Musk, as the government and opposition came together to support efforts to remove graphic content from X.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, called him an “egotistical billionaire,” while Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young referred to him as a “narcissistic cowboy,” and Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham criticized X’s argument that imagery of a terrorist attack should remain online as “ridiculous and preposterous.”
Nina Nguyen contributed to this article
