Australia’s prime minister has said Elon Musk is an “arrogant billionaire who believes he is above the law” over his reluctance to remove footage of the stabbing of X in church last week.
In response, Elon Musk He thanked him “for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one.”
The dispute comes after a week of legal battles and public discussions between X and the Australian Government.
So what is going on?
Last week, Two clerics from Sydney’s Assyrian Church of Christ the Good Shepherd were stabbed while livestreaming a service.
Shortly after, videos of the stabbing began circulating on social media. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant issued notices to Goal and x to have them removed.
Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed during a live broadcast of his religious service
The videos were classified under Australian law as “class 1” material, showing gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail.
Sky News published some images of the moments before the stabbing.
When the notice was issued, Meta complied and removed the videos from its platforms. X, however, announced that he would challenge him.
X blocked the videos in Australia, but the government’s electronic security department argued that this was not good enough as the posts were still accessible worldwide.
Debate on ‘control’ of the internet
On Monday night, eSafety received a court order requiring X to hide the videos globally, but has yet to respond.
Now, Elon Musk has accused the eSafety commissioner, whom he previously nicknamed “censorship commissioner”, of wanting to control the Internet.
“Our concern is that if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, what’s to stop any one country from controlling the entire Internet?” published in X.
Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, intervenes in the dispute during the press rounds.
He told the Australian Broadcasting Company that the country would “do whatever it takes to stand up to this arrogant billionaire who believes himself above the law, but also above common decency.”
Anthony Albanese has called Elon Musk an “arrogant billionaire who believes himself above the law.” Photo: AP
He called Elon Musk “a guy who has chosen ego and violence over common sense,” in an interview with Sky News Australia.
“Australians will shake their heads when they think that this billionaire is willing to go to court, fighting for the right to sow division and show violent videos that are very distressing,” he said.
‘Way to freedom’
He also confirmed that other platforms had removed the videos.
In response, Musk posted an image showing a “path to freedom” with an X at the end.
“Don’t take my word for it, ask the Australian Prime Minister!” he wrote.
What happens if X does not comply?
If X does not comply with the eSafety court order, the company can be found and face legal sanctions.
eSafety also has the power to remove links to content from search engines and remove X from app stores, but there is no indication this is being considered.