Elon Musk’s social media platform X/Twitter has won a court battle against the Australian government’s attempt to censor videos of a stabbing incident in a church in Sydney. A federal judge rejected a bid by the eSafety Commissioner to extend an injunction to remove X/Twitter posts showing a priest being attacked by a knife-wielding assailant. The incident occurred during a live-streamed sermon at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney. The videos of the attack went viral, leading to a confrontation between Musk and the Australian government.
Last month, Musk voiced his concerns about free speech when the eSafety Commissioner tried to force X to censor the attack footage. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Musk of thinking he is above the law, to which Musk responded by questioning the PM’s jurisdiction over the entire Internet. Albanese criticized Musk’s refusal to comply with the eSafety Commissioner’s demands, calling him arrogant and out of touch with Australian values.
Musk reiterated that his platform adheres to the laws of individual countries and emphasized the importance of respecting each country’s legal jurisdiction. He maintained that it would be inappropriate to extend one country’s censorship rules to other countries. Musk suggested that if the eSafety Commissioner wants to censor content in other countries, they should pursue legal actions within those jurisdictions.
Overall, the court ruling in favor of X/Twitter marks a victory for Elon Musk in his fight against government censorship.
