Elon Musk and X challenge Australian eSafety directive on Sydney stabbing content removal

by CHRISTINE LAI

Elon Musk has sparked outrage from politicians across party lines by contesting a directive to take down graphic footage of stabbing attacks from the social media platform X.

The billionaire and his social media platform X have accused Australia’s eSafety commissioner of censorship, announcing plans to contest in court an order to take down content related to Monday’s Sydney church stabbing.

Last Tuesday, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant announced that social media platform X (previously Twitter) and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, would receive notices for content removal.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Commissioner was doing her job to protect the interests of Australians, and that the government would “do what’s necessary to take on this arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above the law, but also above common decency”.

The directive related to content depicting gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail following the alleged stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

The stabbing incident occurred during a service at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in Wakeley. The service was being live streamed, and a recording of it circulated online, along with other videos capturing the aftermath.

On Saturday morning local time, X released a statement accusing the watchdog of advocating for global censorship. Musk wrote, “The Australian censorship commissar is demanding *global* content bans!”.

In a statement shared by Musk, the social media giant expressed that the “the recent attacks in Australia are a horrific assault on free society”.

The statement from X’s global government affairs team, affirmed their compliance with Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s directive to remove “certain posts in Australia that publicly commented” on Monday’s attack.

Don’t take my word for it, just ask the Australian PM! pic.twitter.com/ZJBKrstStQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2024

X’s Defiance: Plans to Fight Removal Directive

The company vowed to challenge the removal notice.

“X believes that eSafety’s order was not within the scope of Australian law and we complied with the directive pending a legal challenge”, said the company in a statement.

“X has now received a demand from the eSafety Commissioner that X globally withhold these posts or face a daily fine of $785,000 AUD (about $500,000 USD)”.

X asserted that the eSafety Commissioner lacked the jurisdiction to dictate the content accessible to X’s users worldwide.

“We will 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 industry giant wrote.

Albanese said, “The idea that someone would go to court for the right to put up violent content on a platform shows how out-of-touch Mr Musk is.”

“Social media needs to have social responsibility with it. Mr Musk is not showing any.”

NSW Premier Criticises X’s Handling of Misinformation and Calls for Accountability

According to NSW Premier Chris Minns, X’s decision reflected a pattern of neglect for the information disseminated on their platform, where misinformation spread rapidly.

“This is exactly as I would expect from X or Twitter or whatever you would call it: a disregard for the information they pump into our communities, lies and rumours spreading like wildfire and then when things go wrong, throwing their hands up in the air to say they are not prepared to do anything about it,” Premier Minns said.

“We have had enough; Sydney has had enough.”

Last year, the federal government proposed new legislation aimed at empowering the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to compel tech companies to combat online misinformation.

Federal Government Proposes Measures to Combat Online Misinformation

The proposed “Misinformation and Disinformation” laws build upon previous legislation passed in 2021, which granted the eSafety Commissioner authority to demand explanations from tech firms regarding their efforts to manage various forms of harmful content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material.

The latest proposal introduces significant fines for online platforms found spreading misinformation and disinformation.

The legislation’s introduction into parliament was postponed until this year due to concerns that it may prompt companies to over-censor to evade penalties.

HR Commissioner Lorraine Finlay also raised concerns over the bill in an op-ed, writing, “The draft bill aims to give the Australian Communications and Media Authority increased powers to combat online misinformation and disinformation, but in a way that does not find equilibrium between censorship of objectively untrue content and protection for freedom of expression”.

This week, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton emphasised a consensus between the Opposition and the Federal Government on the proposed misinformation laws. He stressed the importance of applying Australian law consistently, noting that companies often viewed themselves as exempt from legal obligations.

Dutton suggested that the government’s first step should be to adopt the recommendations made by the e-safety commissioner last year for an age verification scheme.

“We need to get the right balance, we don’t want to impinge on your ability to express a view in a democracy”, Dutton said in a segment on ABC Insiders.

“But they need to do it respectfully … and it’s a matter of enforcing the laws, taking action, giving the e-safety commissioner further powers if that is required, but I think here we’re talking about images in particular which are offensive and which can trigger violent reactions, which we saw earlier this week”, he added.