An Australian judge has lifted a court order that required social platform X to hide a video showing the stabbing of an Assyrian Orthodox bishop in a Sydney church. The judge deemed it unreasonable for the country's internet safety watchdog to demand global censorship of the video.
The decision by Australian Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett came after X, the social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk, refused to comply with the eSafety Commission's removal notice. While X geoblocked Australian users from viewing the video, the eSafety Commissioner wanted 65 URLs leading to the video removed from the platform entirely.
Justice Kennett supported X's argument that removing the URLs globally was not a reasonable step, citing the principle of the 'comity of nations' which respects the territorial limits of each country's laws. He highlighted that enforcing such a removal order globally would infringe on the jurisdiction of other sovereign states.
Experts provided evidence that a U.S. court, where X is based, would be unlikely to enforce the Australian court injunction on the video. Kennett emphasized that while X should be held accountable, an injunction might not be the most effective approach.
X is scheduled to appear in the Federal Court for a pre-trial hearing on its challenge to the validity of the removal notice. Australian government ministers have supported the eSafety Commissioner's legal action against X and are considering potential changes to Australian laws depending on the court's decision.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, expressed his stance on free speech rights following the ruling, emphasizing the importance of not suppressing Australians' freedom of speech. X has not yet commented on the judge's reasons for lifting the court order.
