Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticized tech mogul Elon Musk, branding him as an “arrogant billionaire.” The disagreement stemmed from whether videos of a church stabbing in Sydney should be shared on Musk’s social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter.
Albanese expressed his determination to confront Musk, stating that Australia would take necessary actions against him. He accused Musk of disregarding both the law and basic decency. Albanese said that Musk’s behavior demonstrated a lack of understanding of public sentiment and the need for social responsibility on social media platforms.
Australia’s federal court issued an interim injunction, instructing X to temporarily remove posts containing footage of the Sydney church attack, where an Assyrian bishop was stabbed during a live stream.
Elon Musk, known for advocating free speech, protested against the court order, arguing that it amounted to international censorship. He defended his platform’s adherence to local laws but criticized extending one country’s rulings globally. Australia’s esafety commissioner issued a removal notice to X, urging it to take all reasonable steps to eliminate violent content related to the church attack.
Musk questioned the authority of the Australian esafety commissioner, expressing concerns about potential censorship and governmental control over the internet.
The commissioner’s office announced plans to seek a permanent injunction and civil penalties against X for noncompliance. Other tech companies mostly complied with removal requests.
Musk claimed that X had blocked the content for Australian users pending legal proceedings and reiterated that the content only existed on US servers.
The church attack, which left Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel injured, shocked Australians and raised terrorism concerns. A 16-year-old suspect was charged. Senator Jacqui Lambie deleted her X account, condemning Musk’s lack of social conscience and urging others to follow suit.
Musk’s tenure at Twitter saw relaxed content restrictions in favor of free speech. X faced fines in Australia for noncooperation with an anti-child-abuse probe. Musk also faces accusations in Brazil regarding disinformation on his platform, challenging different approaches to free speech regulation globally.
