Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said he found it “extraordinary” that Elon Musk’s X would choose to legally challenge an order to remove certain posts related to a bishop being stabbed on a church livestream.
Videos of the attack on Mar Mari Emmanuel at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in Sydney spread rapidly online following the incident. Australia’s eSafety commissioner issued orders to X—formerly known as Twitter—and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to remove posts including graphic footage of the attack.
While Meta complied with the order, X objected, saying on Friday that some of the posts that were ordered to be removed “publicly commented on the recent attack” but “did not violate X’s rules on violent speech.” The company also said it did not believe the order fell within the scope of Australian law and that the commissioner “does not have the authority to dictate what content X’s users can see globally.”
Despite saying it had complied with the directive, X added it would “robustly challenge this unlawful and dangerous approach in court.” “Global takedown orders go against the very principles of a free and open internet and threaten free speech everywhere,” the company said.
Elon Musk, X’s owner, also shared X’s statement with his 181 million followers on the site. “The Australian censorship commissar is demanding *global* content bans!” the self-described free speech absolutist added.
On Monday, Albanese told a press conference the matter “isn’t about freedom of expression.” “I find it extraordinary that X chose not to comply and are trying to argue their case,” he said. He also said that “social media has a social responsibility.”
Australia’s Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek separately said it “beggars belief” in her opinion that Musk, an “egotistical billionaire,” believes that it’s “more important for him to have his way than to respect the victims of the crimes that are being shown on social media.”
In a court hearing Monday, the eSafety commissioner was granted a two-day legal injunction to compel X to hide certain posts related to the attack, including violent footage. The commissioner argued that X’s decision to “geoblock” the content—meaning that it would not be accessible to users in Australia—was insufficient to comply with Australian law because geoblocking can be skirted with the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), according to the ABC.
The injunction means that X must hide specific posts from all users worldwide within 24 hours by adding a warning notice to cover posts. Users must not be able to remove the warnings. X can then argue against the injunction Wednesday ahead of a final decision, the ABC reports.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with a terrorism offense in relation to the stabbing. Authorities said last week they intend to allege that the teen stabbed the bishop—who survived the alleged attack—as many as six times.
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