Federal Court extends injunction ordering X to hide violent content
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The news: The Federal Court of Australia has granted the online safety watchdog an extended injunction ordering X to hide footage of last week’s stabbing of a Christian bishop in Sydney’s west behind a notice until 10 May.
During the hearing, the lawyer representing X also told the court the bishop believes videos of the attack should not be taken down.
The context: Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett told the court on Wednesday that the injunction would run until 5pm on 10 May. The application for interlocutory orders will be listed for a hearing at 10:30am that day.
The Federal Court first granted the eSafety Commissioner a temporary injunction on Monday, after the watchdog last week said the company flouted a removal notice the company said it would challenge in court.
X owner Elon Musk has said that eSafety’s order could free up any country to control “the entire internet”. In a series of posts to X this week, the billionaire has criticised Australia’s regulatory efforts and taken aim at comments made by Australian officials on the issue.
What they said: X Corp’s lawyer Marcus Hoyne told the court on Wednesday that X would provide an affidavit from the bishop stabbed in Sydney last week defending the platform’s decision to keep the footage online. “He is strongly of the view the material should be available,” Hoyne said.
The source: Federal Court of Australia
