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Should Australian Authorities Be Able to Control Content Worldwide? Elon Musk


Australian authorities have singled out Musk for not adhering to an order to remove global content on its platform related to a terror incident.

Entrepreneur and tech billionaire Elon Musk has questioned the Australian prime minister on whether his government is trying to “censor” content worldwide.

Responding to a post from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Mr. Musk inquired, “Just want to understand clearly.

“Are you requiring this platform to censor content globally, even when that content is made inaccessible to Australian IP addresses and the content is stored only on servers in the United States?”

Prime Minister Albanese’s post included a video featuring the centre-left Labor Party leader stating that social media platforms “have a responsibility to act.”

“It shouldn’t require the eSafety commissioner to intervene to take down violent videos. The social media companies, which profit from their business, have a social responsibility. We are prepared to take whatever action is necessary to hold these companies accountable,” Mr. Albanese said.

The dispute with the Australian government follows a Federal Court ruling instructing X to block all content globally related to an alleged stabbing incident involving a 16-year-old and an Assyrian Church bishop in western Sydney.

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The eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, a former Twitter employee, took legal action.

Australian politicians have criticized X’s refusal to block content globally (as opposed to domestically only), with Prime Minister Albanese describing him as “arrogant” in various media interviews on April 23.

“We have already censored the content in question for Australia, pending legal appeal, and it is stored only on servers in the USA.”

Musk’s Question ‘Fair’: Senator Matt Canavan

Queensland Liberal National Party Senator Matt Canavan weighed in, saying he felt Mr. Musk’s position was reasonable.

“This is a fair point. What will be our response when China asks for content to be removed globally,” Mr. Canavan said on X.
On April 16, the eSafety commissioner issued initial legal notices to X and Meta to remove material within 24 hours.

“While the majority of mainstream social media platforms have engaged with us, I am not satisfied enough is being done to protect Australians from this most extreme and gratuitous violent material circulating online,” Ms. Inman Grant said.

“That is why I am exercising my powers under the Online Safety Act to formally compel them to remove it.”

Independent Senator Leaves X and Demands Musk Be Put in Jail

Meanwhile, Jacqui Lambie Network senator calls for Mr. Musk to be put in prison.

Speaking on Sky News, the senator said, “Someone like that should be in jail and the key be thrown away. He has absolutely no social conscience.”

She claimed Mr. Musk should “not have a right” to be out there “creating hatred.”

Ms. Lambie said she will be switching off X before she gets to the airport, and suggested the other members of parliament do the same, adding, “I don’t give a stuff about the platform.”

“When you want to lead by example, it has to happen from here,” she said.



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