Melbourne, Australia – Tech billionaire Elon Musk is facing accusations of censorship in Australia after a judge ruled that his social media platform X must block users worldwide from accessing a video showing a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticized Musk, calling him an “arrogant billionaire” who believes he is above the law and disconnected from the public.
X Corp., previously known as Twitter before Musk rebranded it in 2023, announced its intention to challenge Australian court orders to remove posts related to the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a live stream in an Assyrian Orthodox church on April 15. While the material was geoblocked in Australia, it remained available in other locations.
The eSafety Commission, Australia’s regulator dedicated to online safety, successfully obtained a temporary global ban from the Federal Court in Sydney to prevent sharing of the video showing the bishop being stabbed. Justice Geoffrey Kennett imposed the ban on all X users until a hearing for a permanent ban on Wednesday.
Following the court decision, Musk posted a cartoon on his personal X account illustrating a fork in the road, with one path leading to “free speech” and “truth” and the other to “censorship” and “propaganda.” He referenced Albanese’s remarks about other social media platforms complying with regulatory orders to remove violent content.
Albanese condemned Musk’s actions, labeling him as someone who values their ego over common sense. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of social responsibility in relation to social media platforms and criticized Musk for defending violent content.
During legal proceedings, the regulator argued that geoblocking in Australia did not constitute the removal of the footage under Australian law, highlighting the graphic and violent nature of the video. X’s lawyer cited difficulties in obtaining instructions from the San Francisco-based client due to time differences.
Despite X’s compliance with the directive to withhold posts related to the church attack, the platform faced threats of heavy fines from the Australian regulator for non-compliance. X’s Global Government Affairs team vowed to challenge the orders in court and argued against the regulator’s jurisdiction over global content.
The aftermath of the church attack saw a heightened online presence exacerbating tensions, leading to a riot against police officers at the scene. The incident resulted in injuries to police officers and damage to numerous police vehicles, with several arrests made in connection with the violence.
Amidst the ongoing legal battle and public outcry, the 16-year-old suspect in the stabbings has been charged with terrorism offenses, sparking debates around online support and condemnation for the attack. The situation underscores the complexities of regulating online content and the challenges faced by tech companies like X in navigating global jurisdictions.