EU keeps close watch on X amid Australian court clash
The European Commission, a global leader on tech regulation which has launched its own formal legal proceedings over X's failure to curb the dissemination of extremist content, said it was aware of the ongoing Australian stoush.
The European Commission said it continues to closely monitor X Corp’s compliance with digital safety laws in its jurisdiction, as the clock winds down on a temporary Federal Court injunction ordering the platform to hide footage of last week’s stabbing of a Christian bishop in Sydney’s west.
The case has drawn global attention in part due to sharp criticism from X’s billionaire owner Elon Musk. The social media platform is also embroiled in a high profile regulatory clash in the European Union, where the European Commission in December launched formal infringement proceedings relating to X’s handling of extremist content and hate speech, among other activities.
The European Commission in recent years has emerged as a global leader on tech regulation, including competition and privacy law, as well as early work to design guardrails for generative artificial intelligence models. It stepped up its online safety efforts with the introduction of its Digital Services Act, which from earlier this year was expanded to apply to all platforms.
Federal Court of Australia Judge Geoffrey Kennett granted Australia’s online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, a temporary injunction late on Monday, ordering X to hide content depicting the stabbing behind a notice, after the watchdog last week said the company flouted a removal notice. The court gave X 24 hours to comply. Footage depicting the stabbing, which Australian police are investigating as a terrorist attack, was still visible in search results on X just before midday on Wednesday.
