eSafety drops Federal Court case against X on stabbing video
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The news: The online safety regulator has announced it will discontinue legal action against X before the Federal Court of Australia.
The context: eSafety will instead consolidate its dispute in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal over a removal notice issued to X relating to a video of a stabbing in Sydney's west.
The tribunal dispute will now focus on the regulator's decision to issue the removal notice in the first place.
eSafety announced legal action in April to force X to remove the content and alleged X's non-compliance with its initial removal notice. Federal Court of Australia Judge Geoffrey Kennett then granted the regulator's request for a temporary injunction, ordering X to hide content depicting the stabbing behind a notice.
Last month, Kennett rejected the regulator's interlocutory application for a longer-term injunction, which would have been in place while a court battle on the removal notice itself and X's liability played out.
What they said: In a statement announcing the decision, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said: "After weighing multiple considerations, including litigation across multiple cases, I have considered this option likely to achieve the most positive outcome for the online safety of all Australians, especially children".
"... We now welcome the opportunity for a thorough and independent merits review of my decision to issue a removal notice to X Corp by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal," Inman Grant said.
The source: eSafety Commissioner
