An Australian court has ordered the platform "X" to hide posts related to the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney, intensifying the verbal war between social media owner Elon Musk and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Albanese criticized Musk on Tuesday, labeling him an "arrogant billionaire" for rejecting the Australian government's calls to remove the content of the posts.
X has banned the content for its users in Australia but stated that it will not block it for users outside the country, arguing that the government does not have the authority to dictate what content its users can see globally. The eSafety Commissioner has requested the platform to remove certain posts that publicly commented on the attack, which could include video clips.
Court documents revealed that Judge Geoffrey Kennett ordered X during a hearing to block access to those posts until Wednesday afternoon for further consideration. Albanese stated that social media should take social responsibility, indicating that Musk is struggling to control violent content on his platform. He added in a discussion with National Broadcasting: "We will do what is necessary to confront this arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law, and public decency as well."
Albanese clarified that "what the eSafety Commissioner is doing is fulfilling her role to protect the interests of Australians." Musk had previously referred to the eSafety Commissioner as the "Australian Censorship Commissioner," prompting Albanese to reprimand the platform, describing its battle against removing violent content as "extraordinary."
