Australian government attacks 'arrogant' Musk over live-streamed impeachment columns

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he found it “extraordinary” that Elon Musk

Videos of the attack on Mar Mary Emmanuel at the Assyrian Church of Christ the Good Shepherd in Sydney quickly spread online after the incident. The Australian Cyber ​​Safety Commissioner has issued orders to X – formerly known as Twitter – and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to remove posts including graphic footage of the attack.

While Meta complied with the order, X objected, saying on Friday that some of the posts ordered to be removed “commented publicly on the recent attack” but “did not violate the X Rules on violent speech.” The company also said it did not believe the matter fell within the scope of Australian law and that the commissioner “does not have the authority to decide what content X users can see globally”.

Although it said it had complied with the directive, X added that it would “vigorously challenge this illegal and dangerous approach in court.” “Global takedown orders conflict with the principles of a free and open Internet and threaten freedom of expression everywhere,” the company said.

Elon Musk, owner of X, also shared X's statement with his 181 million followers on the site. “Australian Censorship Commissioner Demands *Global* Content Ban!” Which describes itself as absolute freedom of expression He added.

Albanese said in a press conference on Monday that it was “not about freedom of expression.” “I find it extraordinary that X would choose not to comply and attempt to argue his case,” he said. He also said that “social media has a social responsibility.”

Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek separately He said It is “impossible to believe” that Musk, an “arrogant billionaire,” believes it is “more important for him to get his way than to respect the victims of crimes that appear on social media.”

At a court hearing on Monday, the Electronic Safety Commissioner obtained a two-day injunction to force X to hide some posts related to the attack, including violent footage. The Commissioner argued that ABC.

The injunction means that X must hide specific posts from all users worldwide within 24 hours by adding a warning notice to cover the posts. Users should not be able to remove warnings. X can then argue against the injunction on Wednesday before a final decision is made, ABC reported.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with a terrorist offense in connection with the stabbing. Authorities said last week that they intended to claim that the teen stabbed the bishop — who survived the alleged attack — up to six times.