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Agence France-Presse

A bid by Australia’s online watchdog to impose a ban on dozens of violent X posts stumbled on Monday when a top judge ruled in favour of the social media firm.
Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett refused to extend a temporary order to take down posts that show the stabbing of a Sydney priest in April, pending further legal action.
“The orders of the court will be that the application to extend the interlocutory injunction … is refused,” Kennett said, without immediately giving the reasons for his decision.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner wants Elon Musk’s company to take down about 65 video and audio clips of an April 15 non-fatal stabbing that was live-streamed.
The site, formerly known as Twitter, has agreed to geoblock the posts, theoretically preventing them from being seen by users in Australia.
But the eSafety Commission has said that does not go far enough.

It has called for X to remove the posts globally, saying they are still easily viewed in Australia through the use of virtual private networks that mask a user’s location.
Unlike other social media companies, X has refused, claiming the issue was one of free speech.
“Only X resisted censoring your voice” Musk posted to followers.
The posts show Assyrian orthodox Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed about six times during a live-streamed sermon.
A 16-year-old has been charged with “committing a terrorist act” in relation to the attack, which is said to have been religiously motivated.
The attack sparked a riot outside the church, as panicked relatives of those inside sought vigilante justice.
Emmanuel has an online following of almost 200,000, galvanising them by his criticism of Covid-19 vaccines, lockdowns and Islam.
Monday’s ruling is not a total victory for X, as it had already been ignoring the worldwide take-down order, and further legal action is expected.


It is unclear whether the judge rejected the extension of the order on procedural or more substantive grounds.
But it does signify a reprieve, and could mean the firm avoids fines running to millions of dollars.
The case is being seen as an important test of social media platforms’ legal responsibilities and of the use of geoblocking.
Almost a quarter of Australians use virtual private networks, according to the eSafety Commission.
Musk has previously told X users to use virtual private networks to bypass alleged “censorship” in Brazil.
Musk has frequently targeted democratically elected governments like those in Australia, Brazil and Canada over free speech, but has notably avoided criticism of autocratic countries where he has business interests.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Australia

Australian judge lifts ban on Musk’s X showing video of Sydney church stabbing

An Australian judge on Monday  lifted a ban on the social media platform X showing Australians a video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church. Photo: AP

Senior Parish Priest Isaac Royel (left) and Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a church service. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner wants X to take down video and audio clips of an April 15 non-fatal stabbing of Emmanuel that was live-streamed Photo: Reuters

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Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite company has been granted business licences to operate in Indonesia. Photo: AFP

A Starlink satellite in Earth’s orbit. Photo: Shutterstock

Elon Musk escalates feud with Australia over X as spy chief warns of extremism

Computer monitors display the sign-in page for X, formerly known as Twitter. Photo: AP

Elon Musk at an event in January. Targeting individuals is a regular strategy of the X CEO, as he goes after governments that try to exert more oversight of content on social media. Photo: AFP 

A screengrab of Elon Musk’s reply to a post on his social media platform X calling for Australian senator Jacqui Lambie to “be in jail for censoring free speech on X”. Photo: X/elonmusk

Australia PM Anthony Albanese reels in Elon Musk over harmful content – time to cast net wider

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the APEC Leaders’ Week in San Francisco last year. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was berated by Australian PM Anthony Albanese for being an “arrogant billionaire” over X’s refusal to remove videos of a stabbing attack in Sydney. Photo: TNS

Sydney bishop stabbed during service backs X’s legal case to share video of attack

Senior parish priest Isaac Royel (left) and Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Sydney. Emmanuel says he does not oppose to the stabbing video being shared on social media given “freedom of speech, and freedom of religion”. Photo: Reuters

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Australasia

An Australian judge on Monday lifted a ban on the social media platform X showing Australians a video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner wants Elon Musk’s company to take down about 65 video and audio clips of an April 15 non-fatal stabbing that was live-streamed


An Australian judge on Monday lifted a ban on the social media platform X showing Australians a video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church.
