An Australian court has upheld the fine that the national internet safety regulator imposed on X for its lack of moderation regarding violent content.
Elon Musk’s social network,
The Australian regulator in charge of internet security, eSafety, contacted what was then Twitter in February 2023 to outline its mechanism for combating child pornography content.
The following month, the platform was integrated into the company X Corp, created by the billionaire in the United States and ultimately required to pay a fine, for “incomplete” responses to repeated requests from the regulator.
Sanction confirmed
X Corp argued in the Federal Court of Australia that it did not have to respond because eSafety had first approached Twitter, a company that has since defunct.
“X Corp has failed in all of its claims,” said Judge Michael Wheelahan, according to the text of the decision rendered Friday. Julie Inman Grant, head of eSafety and former Twitter employee, welcomed the court decision.
“If X Corp’s argument had been accepted by the court, it could have set a worrying precedent, allowing a foreign company resulting from a merger with another foreign company to escape its regulatory obligations in Australia,” said Ms. Inman Grant.
The manager has in the past described X’s comments on his fight against violent content as “empty speeches”. In September, Mr. Musk, unhappy with a bill intended to sanction platforms that do not fight against disinformation, accused the Australian government of being “fascist”.
In June, Australian authorities dropped other charges against the social network after a long standoff. The regulator had wanted to force X to remove videos of a knife attack in a Sydney church.
