Australia ends legal fight for X to remove violent stabbing video

Australia’s independent regulator for online safety has decided to halt its efforts to remove a violent video from X (formerly Twitter).

Following the stabbing of a clergyman in Sydney, Australia on April 15, which was broadcast online, Australia’s national regulator, eSafety, called on all social media platforms to remove the video. While eSafety stated that Meta, Google, TikTok, and others complied, X only restricted Australian viewers from accessing the video, a restriction easily bypassed with a VPN. When eSafety pushed for the video’s complete removal, X’s CEO Elon Musk defended the platform’s decision, labeling the request as an infringement on free speech and arguing that one country’s laws should not dictate global regulations, as The Register reported.

Although eSafety has ceased its battle against X, the regulator expressed continued frustration. Julie Inman Grant, the commissioner of eSafety, emphasized, “Our primary objective in issuing the removal notice was to prevent the dissemination of this extremely violent footage, which could potentially incite further violence and harm the Australian community.” Grant questioned why such graphic material, deemed unfit for broadcast television, should be freely distributed online around the clock, accessible to all, including minors.

Grant acknowledged that X did remove a video globally that combined the Sydney attack with two other stabbing incidents. She highlighted the violence policy X presented to the European Commission in October as evidence that the platform should permanently remove the video. The policy explicitly prohibits violent and hateful content, perpetrators of violent acts, violent speech, sensitive media, and manipulated media. Grant emphasized that X’s commitment to removing illegal content, including terrorist material, should compel them to honor the request to remove the video.