Australia: The legal struggle to get Elon Musk’s X to take down a horrific video of a church stabbing in Sydney has concluded, according to Australia’s internet watchdog.
The decision to withdraw the case was made by eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman on Wednesday to “achieve the most positive outcome for the online safety of all Australians, especially children.”
“Our sole goal and focus in issuing our removal notice was to prevent this extremely violent footage from going viral, potentially inciting further violence and inflicting more harm on the Australian community. I stand by my investigators and the decisions eSafety made,” Inman said in a statement.
“Most Australians accept this kind of graphic material should not be on broadcast television, which begs an obvious question of why it should be allowed to be distributed freely and accessible online 24/7 to anyone, including children.” Inman Grant expressed her gratitude for the chance to have the nation’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal evaluate her takedown notice on the basis of merits.
Formerly known as Twitter, X, welcomed the news. Refusing to comply with an eSafety notification, X claimed that merely limiting the video for Australian users should be adequate. The tape showed Assyrian Orthodox Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed but not fatally during a livestreamed sermon.
Musk’s failure to heed the warning was criticized by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called Musk a “arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above the law, but also above common decency.”
In April, the Federal Court of Australia issued a temporary order to X to conceal the content globally, which the platform declined to comply with. However, a judge rejected an attempt to prolong the order earlier this month.
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