Elon Musk’s X can’t escape $417,000 Australian fine in harmful posts case

Australia’s eSafety Commission approached what was then Twitter in February 2023, demanding the company explain how it was tackling the spread of child sexual abuse content.

The following month Twitter was merged into Musk’s newly formed X Corp, which was eventually fined for “incomplete” responses to the commission’s repeated requests.

X Corp argued in Australia’s Federal Court that it did not need to respond because the commission had first targeted Twitter, a company that no longer existed.

“X Corp has failed on all its claims,” Justice Michael Wheelahan found in a decision handed down on Friday.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant — a former Twitter employee — welcomed the court’s decision.

“Had X Corp’s argument been accepted by the court it could have set the concerning precedent that a foreign company’s merger with another foreign company might enable it to avoid regulatory obligations in Australia.”

Inman Grant has previously said X’s efforts to rid the platform of graphic sexual and violent content amounted to “empty talk”.

The commission must now fight a separate legal battle in a bid to enforce the fine — one of many skirmishes pitting the Australian government against tech mogul Musk.

Musk likened the Australian government to “fascists” earlier this year, attacking proposed laws that would fine social media giants for failing to stem the spread of misinformation.

In June, X fended off a separate legal suit brought by Australia’s eSafety Commission.

The watchdog had sought a global takedown order forcing X to remove “extremely violent” videos showing the stabbing of a Sydney preacher.

But it dropped the case after a preliminary hearing, a move celebrated by Musk as a free speech triumph.

Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist”, has clashed with politicians and digital rights groups worldwide, including in the European Union, which could decide within months to take action against X with possible fines.

In Brazil, where X has effectively been suspended after it ignored a series of court directives, Musk has responded by blasting the judge as an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge”.