Australia’s Prime Minister has said Elon Musk is an “arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law” due to his reluctance to remove footage of X’s church stabbing last week.
In response, Elon Musk thanked him “for informing the public that this platform is the only true one”.
The fight comes after a week of legal battles and public arguments between X and the Australian government.
So, what is happening?
Last week, two clergy at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in Sydney were stabbed while live-streaming a service.
Soon after, videos of the stabbing began circulating on social media. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has issued warnings to goal It is X to remove them.
The videos were classified under Australian law as “class 1” material, depicting 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 warning was released, Meta responded 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 e-security department argued this was not good enough as the posts were still accessible globally.
Debate over ‘control’ of the internet
On Monday night, eSafety obtained an injunction requiring X to hide the videos globally, but has not yet responded to it.
Now, Elon Musk has accused the eSafety commissioner, whom he previously dubbed the “censorship commissioner,” of wanting to control the Internet.
“Our concern is that if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, what is to stop any one country from controlling the entire Internet?” he posted on X.
Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, weighed in on the issue during media rounds.
He told the Australian Broadcasting Company that the country would “do whatever it takes to stand up to this arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law but also above common decency.”
Anthony Albanese called Elon Musk an “arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law.” Photo: AP
He called Elon Musk “a guy who chose ego and violence over common sense,” in an interview with Sky News Australia.
“Australians will shake their heads when they think 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.
‘Path to freedom’
He also confirmed that other platforms removed the videos.
In response, Musk published an image showing a “path to freedom” with an X at the end.
“Don’t just take my word for it, just ask the Australian Prime Minister!” He wrote.
What happens if X doesn’t comply?
If X does not comply with the eSafety injunction, the company could be fined 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.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
