Elon Musk wins court battle against Australia
The tech billionaire’s X platform insisted Canberra’s order to remove the stabbing video was invalid
An Australian Federal Court judge has decided not to extend an order prohibiting Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) platform from showing a video of a stabbing attack in a Sydney church.
Judge Jeffrey Kennett on Monday rejected a request by the country’s e-safety commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, to extend restrictions on the clip, which she considered to be in violation of the law. “Class 1” Materials related to high-impact violence. The judge has not yet provided an explanation for his ruling.
The initial ban on the video, imposed by the Federal Court in Melbourne on April 22, expired on Monday.
X refused to comply with the order, which would have made the clip unavailable to users around the world. The platform has only agreed to block content in Australia. Musk insisted at the time that no single country should have the power to censor the entire internet. The Cyber Safety Commissioner said a blanket ban was needed as Australians could still access video through a VPN.
The clip in question showed a stabbing that occurred during a live-streamed sermon at an Assyrian Christian church in the suburbs of Sydney on April 15. Four people, including Bishop Mary Emmanuel, were injured in what Australian authorities described as a stabbing incident. “terrorist incident” Footage of the attack was widely shared online and allegedly sparked heated protests near the crime scene.
During Friday’s hearing, the Electronic Safety Commissioner’s attorney, Tim Bigbie, said the refusal to comply with Order X was a mockery of the federal court. “What that says about the court’s authority is very striking.” He said.
X’s lawyer, Brett Walker, argued that the platform did not enforce the ban on the stabbing video because the commissioner’s initial takedown notice was invalid and “Clearly insufficient” This is because there is no detailed description of the reasons for the ban.
The social media company thinks so “Global removal is reasonable when X does it because X wants to do it, but it becomes unreasonable when it is required to do so under the laws of Australia.” Walker told the judge.
In late April, Bishop Emanuel supported Musk during a sermon, saying he wanted the video of the attack against him to remain online because… “Our God-given right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion.”
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