Musk's X Corp faces legal action for ignoring eSafety commissioner

The news: Elon Musk's X Corp, formerly Twitter, faces Federal Court action for failing to comply with eSafety requests regarding child sexual exploitation and abuse material the platform. The eSafety commissioner alleges X failed to provide a requested transparency notice on how it was working to prevent and remove abuse material from appearing on the social media site. After months of back and forth, the commissioner says X Corp has failed to answer certain questions and offered false or inaccurate responses to others.

The numbers: X Corp subsequently opted not to pay a $610,500 fine for failing to respond, and has sought a judicial review. The commissioner is requesting both matters be heard simultaneously.

The context: The eSafety commissioner has taken a tougher stance on digital platforms' responsibility for illegal material in 2023. Musk took control of Twitter in November 2022, laying off hundreds of staff and promising to promote free speech. Since the takeover, X has been criticised for republishing illegal material and misinformation, as its multi-billion dollar valuation shrank by more than half in less than a year.