Topline
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lashed out at Elon Musk in multiple interviews on Tuesday, as the billionaire accused the politician of enabling censorship on X after an Australian court ordered the Musk-owned social media platform to take down videos of a mass stabbing at a church that authorities declared was a terrorist incident.
Key Facts
Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Albanese said his government will do what is necessary to take on “this arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above the law, but also…common decency.”
The Australian prime minister said Musk’s decision to go to court “for the right to put up violent content on a platform shows how out of touch Mr. Musk is” and added: “Social media needs to have social responsibility with it, Mr. Musk isn’t showing any.”
Albanese told Channel Nine in a separate interview that Musk was putting himself above anything else in this matter and was using his “billionaire’s dollars” to demand the right to circulate violent content that will “sow social division and cause distress.”
On Sky News Australia, Albanese called Musk a “bloke who’s chosen ego and showing violence over common sense,” adding that other social media companies have “complied without complaint.”
Musk shared a post on X stating Australia was “demanding censorship of content” beyond its borders, and wrote: “Should the eSafety Commissar (an unelected official) in Australia have authority over all countries on Earth?”
Chief Critic
Responding to a clip of one of Albanese’s interviews, Musk said: “Well, no president, prime minister or judge has authority over all of Earth! This platform adheres to the laws of countries in those countries, but it would be improper to extend one country’s rulings to other countries. If he want to censor things in other countries, he should bring a legal action to bear in those countries.”
News Peg
On Monday an Australian federal court ruled in favor of the country’s eSafety commission and issued an interim order requiring X to hide videos of the Sydney church stabbing globally by placing them behind a notice within 24 hours. Meta was also issued the same order although Australian officials said the Facebook and Instagram parent was already cooperating. Musk responded on X with a cartoon showing a fork in the road with one path leading to “Free Speech” and “Truth” with the X logo underneath and another leading to “censorship” and “propaganda” with all other social platform logos. Musk also shared a post citing Albanese saying other social media platforms had complied with the order and wrote: “I’d like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one.”
Key Background
Last week, a knife-wielding attacker stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel while he was delivering a sermon at the Assyrian church located in Sydney’s Wakeley suburb. The attack was caught on camera as the church live streams all its sermons online. After clips of the attack began circulating widely on social media, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner stepped in and ordered all platforms to take down the footage. X’s Global Government Affairs team said it would legally challenge an order by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner to take down violent and offensive posts and videos depicting the attack. The company argued the posts “did not violate X’s rules on violent speech” and the commission did not have “the authority to dictate what content X’s users can see globally.”
Big Number
Around $500,000 (A$785,000). That’s the size of the penalty X faces every day for refusing to comply with the eSafety commissioner’s orders.
Further Reading
Musk’s Dispute With Australian Prime Minister Over Sydney Stabbing Posts Explained (Forbes)
Australian Leaders Attack ‘Egotistical Billionaire’ Elon Musk As X Refuses To Take Down Church Stabbing Posts (Forbes)
