Following a stabbing incident targeting a Sydney-area church, Australian authorities have charged five teenagers with terrorism and extremism-related charges. The charges were brought against five of seven teenagers arrested after a series of raids across Sydney and its suburbs. Two 17 and 14 year-old boys face charges of possessing extremist material online, while two 16 year-olds and a 17 year-old are accused of planning a terrorist attack. The latter was also charged with carrying a knife in a public area. The investigation into the attack, which has been deemed a terrorist incident, has sparked a political debate over the handling of videos of the incident on social media. The debate centers around the refusal of social media platform X to remove all videos of the stabbing, with Australian authorities, led by the eSafety Commissioner, clashing with X and its CEO, Elon Musk. The eSafety Commission has obtained a court order requiring X to hide the videos globally, while X and Musk have accused the government of censorship and attempting to control user content. The cleric who was stabbed in the attack, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, has expressed his support for X’s stance, emphasizing the importance of freedom of speech and religion. However, he also acknowledged the government’s desire to remove the graphic videos. Despite Emmanuel’s stance, Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has backed the government’s actions, arguing that the eSafety Commission’s takedown authority should not extend beyond Australia’s borders.
