The Australian government and Elon Musk continue to clash over what is considered censorship and free speech.
An Australian Senator has sung the praises of Elon Musk and X Corporation, putting him at odds with the prime minister and politicians from both major parties.
United Australia Senator Ralph Babet described X as one of the only free speech social media platforms out there, in response to a post from Mr. Musk.
Mr. Musk is at loggerheads with the Australian government over a take-down order for posts related to the alleged stabbing of a Christian bishop.
On April 22, the X owner sarcastically praised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, sharing a post from a profile “data hazard” that included an extract from a recent press conference.
“I'd like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one,” he said.
The prime minister had quipped that other social media companies had followed directions from the eSafety commissioner, but not X.
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“By and large, people responded appropriately to the calls by the E-Safety Commissioner. X chose not to. They stand, I think, I find it extraordinary that X chose not to comply and are trying to argue their case,” Mr. Albanese said.
The post that Mr. Musk shared, added the word “for censorship” to the prime minister’s comments and claimed the he had taken the time to advertise for Mr. Musk.
Senator Babet wrote in response to Mr. Musk, “X is one of the only mainstream free speech platforms left on the internet.”
In a separate post, Mr. Musk shared a cartoon of a path leading to a castle with the words “free speech and truth” on the left with an icon of X.
Icons of YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads were depicted on the right with dark clouds and thunderstorms with the words, “censorship and propaganda.
Mr. Musk added, “Don’t take my word for it, just ask the Australian PM,” Mr. Musk wrote.
PM Attacks Continue
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken aim at Mr. Musk again, calling X’s owner an “arrogant billionaire.”
“We'll do what is necessary to take this arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law, but also above common decency,” Mr. Albanese said.
“What the e-Safety Commissioner is doing is doing her job to protect the interests of Australians.”
In a separate television interview, the prime minister again used the term arrogance to describe Mr. Musk, claiming his recent post to X “just shows his arrogance.”
X Ordered to Hide Stabbing Videos by Australian Court
The back and forth between the Australian government and Mr. Musk follows the Australian federal court ordering X to hide posts of an alleged terrorist attack at a Sydney Christian church from all global users.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant sought an urgent suppression order on the footage on Monday evening, claiming Australian users could access the content via a virtual private network.
She was concerned the footage X removed had only been geo-blocked for Australian audiences.
The interim suppression order will apply for two days ahead of a new court hearing on April 24.
However, X has been arguing that the posts did not violate the platform’s rules on “violent speech,” and revealed it had received a demand from the eSafety commissioner to remove all posts globally—or face a daily fine of $785,000 (US$506,000).
On April 16, the eSafety commissioner confirmed it had issued legal notices to X and Meta to remove material within 24 hours.
The commissioner said notices related to material that depicted “gratuitous or offence violence with a high degree of impact or detail.”
“While the majority of mainstream social media platforms have engaged with us, I am not satisfied enough is being done to protect Australians from this most extreme and gratuitous violent material circulating online,” Ms. Inman Grant said.
“That is why I am exercising my powers under the Online Safety Act to formally compel them to remove it.”
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