Elon Musk and his social media company
On Tuesday, Electronic Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said social media giants X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook’s parent company Meta, would receive a takedown notice.
The advisory concerns content depicting “gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail” following the alleged stabbing of Archbishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, which was captured during an online broadcast of the service.
In a tweet Saturday morning local time, Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter in April 2022, claimed that “Australian Censorship Commissioner demands *global* content bans.”
Threatened with fines for failing to comply with the order, X’s global government affairs team claimed that the posts it was ordered to remove did not violate its rules on violent speech.
Elon Musk and a church in Sydney.
In a statement shared by Musk, the social media giant said “the recent attacks in Australia are a horrific attack on free society” but vowed to fight the removal notice.
“Australia’s Electronic Security Commissioner has ordered X to remove certain posts in Australia that publicly commented on the recent attack on a Christian bishop,” X said.
‘X believes that eSafety’s order did not fall within the scope of Australian law and we have complied with the directive pending a legal challenge.
“X has now received a request from the Electronic Security Commissioner to suspend these posts globally or face a daily fine of $785,000.”
The company described the alleged attack on the Assyrian church leader as “a tragic event” and said it “did not allow people to praise him or call for more violence.”
“There is a public conversation about the event, on X and across Australia, as is often the case when events of major public interest occur,” X said.
“While X respects a country’s right to enforce its laws within its jurisdiction, the Commissioner does not have the power to dictate what content users can see globally. We will vigorously challenge this illegal and dangerous approach in court.
“Global takedown orders go against the very principles of a free and open Internet and threaten freedom of expression everywhere.”
Video of the alleged assault, which was broadcast live, has become a sore point for police and political leaders trying to allay fears of further intra-communal violence.
The alleged attack was filmed during an online broadcast of the church service.
Speaking to media on Friday, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb slammed “misinformation” following the alleged attack and called on social media sites to do more.
“I think running a social media platform should come with a lot of social and corporate responsibility,” she said.
“I think to have images like that online they need to be removed immediately and not left there.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns blasted X on Saturday and said it was time sanctions on social media companies were strengthened.
“This is exactly what I would expect from X, or Twitter, or whatever you want to call it: a disregard for the information they put out in our communities, lies and rumors spreading like wildfire powder,” Mr. Minns told reporters.
“Then when things go wrong, they throw their hands up in the air and say they’re not prepared to do anything about it.”
In a statement seen by the Guardian, the eSafety Commission said it continued to engage with platforms “regarding the re-sharing and republication of (violent content)”.
“We expect platforms that benefit from Australians’ use of their services to make genuine efforts to protect our citizens from harmful content,” the commission said.
“With respect to X Corp, eSafety works to ensure the company’s full compliance with Australian law.
“eSafety is disappointed that the process has been unnecessarily prolonged, rather than prioritizing the safety of Australians and the Australian community.”
The commission said it expected platforms to adhere to their own terms of service and said it was “considering whether additional regulatory action is warranted” regarding X.
Ms Inman Grant told reporters on Tuesday that while the majority of major social media platforms had engaged with the commissioner, there was still more to be done.
Australia’s e-safety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said some content put the safety of the Australian community at risk.
“I am not convinced that enough is being done to protect Australians from this extremely extreme and gratuitous violent material circulating online,” she said.
“That is why I am exercising my powers under the Online Safety Act to formally require them to remove it.”
A 16-year-old boy was charged in the church stabbing, and on Friday evening, a 45-year-old man was arrested at a Fairfield Heights home and charged with rioting and threatening violence, causing fear.
The man was refused bail to appear in Parramatta Court on Saturday.
Police hope high-visibility patrols in the area will help curb the conflict after the knife-wielding teenager allegedly struck Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, 53, who was giving a sermon on Monday evening.
The stabbing attack – which has since been branded an act of terrorism – sparked a riot outside Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, leaving dozens of police officers injured.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said investigators believed the attack met the criteria for a terrorist act, but he declined to go into detail.
Elon Musk purchased Twitter in April 2022, largely because he claimed free speech had been encroached on the platform.
The billionaire has regularly clashed with governments over alleged censorship attempts, including a recent spat with a Brazilian Supreme Court judge over banned accounts.
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