A court in Australia upheld a fine of 610,500 Australian dollars for Elon Musk’s X for failing to cooperate with a regulator’s request for information about anti-child-abuse practices. The Federal Court of Australia ruled that X, formerly Twitter, was obligated to respond to a notice from the eSafety Commissioner seeking information about addressing child sexual exploitation material on the platform. X had argued it was not required to respond due to its merger into a new Musk-controlled entity, but the court disagreed, emphasizing the importance of foreign companies meeting regulatory obligations in Australia.
The eSafety Commissioner has initiated civil proceedings against X for noncompliance. This follows a previous conflict where the Commissioner ordered X to remove posts depicting violence in Australia, with Musk challenging the order as censorship and claiming it was a ploy by the World Economic Forum to impose internet safety rules globally. Despite the legal tussle, X ultimately kept the posts up after the Australian regulator withdrew its case.
Musk’s response to the rulings and conflicts with the Australian regulator has displayed a tension between X’s global reach and local regulatory requirements. The case highlights the challenges faced by international tech companies in navigating different legal landscapes, particularly concerning issues such as internet safety and censorship.
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