The Federal Court of Australia has ordered an interim injunction against Elon Musk’s X Corp, directing the social media company to hide graphic content depicting the Wakeley stabbing in Sydney from every X user.
Last week, the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant exercised her powers pursuant to the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) to compel the social media platforms X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram to remove videos containing violence portraying the violent stabbing.
In response to the eSafety Commissioner’s order, X elected to simply ‘geo-block’ the content from being accessed by Australian users. On Monday, 22 April 2024, the eSafety Commissioner initiated proceedings against X Corp, arguing that despite geo-blocking the content, it had failed to comply with its order as the videos had not been altogether deleted from the platform. It also argued that geo-blocking the content did not prevent Australian users from viewing the videos as individuals can employ technologies such as virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their physical locations and access the content.
Whilst noting that an injunction may be of little utility given the content remains accessible on other social media platforms, the Federal Court granted the eSafety Commissioner an injunction against X Corp, requiring the company to hide the content from all of its global users until 5pm on Wednesday, 24 April 2024.
X Corp disputes the authority of the eSafety Commissioner to dictate what content global X users can view and has raised concerns as to undue restrictions upon freedom of speech. In response, a spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner has clarified that the original notice only referred to videos of the attack, and did not seek to prevent commentary and discussion concerning the stabbing on X.
The first notice issued by the eSafety Commissioner was released in the context of the widespread ‘social media crackdown’ on potentially harmful content online. Indeed, in late 2023, the eSafety Commissioner initiated legal proceedings against X Corp in relation to allegations that the company failed to disclose information as to how it was addressing online child abuse material. In March 2024, the Commissioner issued a raft of notices to companies such as Meta, Google and Whatsapp directing them to outline the strategies that have been developed to stop the spread of harmful content published by terrorists and violent extremists.
A further hearing is expected to take place in the coming days where the eSafety Commissioner will seek an extension to the interim injunction before a final hearing can occur – where a permanent injunction and civil penalties may be sought against X Corp.
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered an interim injunction against Elon Musk’s X Corp, directing the social media company to hide graphic content depicting the Wakeley stabbing in Sydney from every X user.
Last week, the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant exercised her powers pursuant to the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) to compel the social media platforms X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram to remove videos containing violence portraying the violent stabbing.
In response to the eSafety Commissioner’s order, X elected to simply ‘geo-block’ the content from being accessed by Australian users. On Monday, 22 April 2024, the eSafety Commissioner initiated proceedings against X Corp, arguing that despite geo-blocking the content, it had failed to comply with its order as the videos had not been altogether deleted from the platform. It also argued that geo-blocking the content did not prevent Australian users from viewing the videos as individuals can employ technologies such as virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their physical locations and access the content.
Whilst noting that an injunction may be of little utility given the content remains accessible on other social media platforms, the Federal Court granted the eSafety Commissioner an injunction against X Corp, requiring the company to hide the content from all of its global users until 5pm on Wednesday, 24 April 2024.
X Corp disputes the authority of the eSafety Commissioner to dictate what content global X users can view and has raised concerns as to undue restrictions upon freedom of speech. In response, a spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner has clarified that the original notice only referred to videos of the attack, and did not seek to prevent commentary and discussion concerning the stabbing on X.
The first notice issued by the eSafety Commissioner was released in the context of the widespread ‘social media crackdown’ on potentially harmful content online. Indeed, in late 2023, the eSafety Commissioner initiated legal proceedings against X Corp in relation to allegations that the company failed to disclose information as to how it was addressing online child abuse material. In March 2024, the Commissioner issued a raft of notices to companies such as Meta, Google and Whatsapp directing them to outline the strategies that have been developed to stop the spread of harmful content published by terrorists and violent extremists.
A further hearing is expected to take place in the coming days where the eSafety Commissioner will seek an extension to the interim injunction before a final hearing can occur – where a permanent injunction and civil penalties may be sought against X Corp.
