Elon Musk Defies Australian Court Order to Censor Violent Content
Elon Musk has lashed out against the Australian government after a court ordered Twitter to remove videos of the stabbing of Orthodox Christian leader Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. The country’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, had earlier told Twitter and Meta to remove the violent media within 24 hours. This week, the Federal Court of Australia ordered the video to be removed from Twitter until Wednesday, and said another hearing would take place to assess Grant’s removal order.
Musk responded on Twitter, stating that if any country is allowed to censor content for all countries, it could lead to global internet censorship. He also claimed that Twitter had already censored the content in question for Australia and stored it only on servers in the USA.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticized Musk for his refusal to comply. Twitter also said that the Australian government wanted it to censor some posts commenting on the attack, claiming that the comments did not break the platform’s hate speech rules.
‘X has loosened its content moderation rules since it came under Musk’s leadership. While its owner claims this is a victory for free speech, the platform has seen a surge in users trying to monetise violent videos and adult content. Musk’s refusal to comply with the Australian administration is also likely to spook more traditional advertisers, who want tech companies to maintain amicable relations with their government and their audience.’
