Sun. May 19th, 2024

Elon Musk’s X pledges to fight Australian watchdog over church stabbing content

Alex Thompson By Alex Thompson May12,2024
Social media platform X has pledged to fight Australia’s online safety watchdog over posts about a .
The platform’s Global Government Affairs team on Saturday said Australia’s eSafety Commissioner had ordered it to remove posts that commented on the attack.
But they said the posts did not violate X’s rules on violent speech.

The team claimed the regulator demanded X “globally withhold these posts or face a daily fine of $785,000”.

“X believes that eSafety’s order was not within the scope of Australian law and we complied with the directive pending a legal challenge,” the Global Government Affairs team posted on Saturday.
“While X respects the right of a country to enforce its laws within its jurisdiction, the eSafety Commissioner does not have the authority to dictate what content X’s users can see globally.
“We will robustly challenge this unlawful and dangerous approach in court.”

The commissioner has only said it was considering whether further regulatory action was warranted, after it put social media platforms on notice to remove graphic content showing recent violence in Sydney.

Calls have grown for harsher sanctions for social media platforms in the wake of the after distressing footage of the attack was uploaded online and misinformation spread.
“We will take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with these notices,” the watchdog said in a statement on Friday.

“In relation to X Corp, eSafety is working to ensure the company’s full and complete compliance with Australian law.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns blasted X on Saturday and said it was about time penalties for social media companies were strengthened.
“This is exactly as I’d expect from X, or Twitter, or whatever you want to call it – a disregard for the information that they pump into our communities, lies and rumours spreading like wildfire,” Mr Minns told reporters.

“Then when things go wrong, throwing their hands up in the air to say that they’re not prepared to do anything about it.”

Alex Thompson

By Alex Thompson

Alex is an award-winning journalist with a passion for investigative reporting. With over 15 years of experience in the field, Alex has covered a wide range of topics from politics to entertainment. Known for in-depth research and compelling storytelling, Alex's work has been featured in major news outlets around the world.

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2 thoughts on “Elon Musk’s X pledges to fight Australian watchdog over church stabbing content”
  1. As an avid user of social media platform X, I support their decision to challenge the Australian eSafety Commissioner’s order. It’s crucial that platforms like X are not unjustly restricted in their content moderation efforts. Freedom of expression should be protected while also ensuring safety online.

  2. As a social media user, I believe it’s crucial for platforms like X to defend free speech and not bow down to arbitrary regulatory demands. It’s a slippery slope when governments try to dictate what we can and cannot see online. I support X’s decision to challenge the watchdog’s overreach in court.

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