Australia’s eSafety Commissioner will face Elon Musk’s X Corp in court later this year after he slapped the social media giant with a six-figure fine, a court heard.
eSafety announced in December last year that it had commenced civil proceedings in the Federal Court against X Corp in relation to its response to a “transparency notice”.
In a statement, eSafety said the notice required the company to explain how it was “meeting the Basic Online Safety Expectations regarding child sexual exploitation and abuse material.”
eSafety has alleged that
X Corp is separately seeking a judicial review of the infringement notice and has commenced proceedings which will run alongside the case brought by the eSafety Commissioner.
eSafety has alleged that
In a concise statement filed with the Federal Court, eSafety says it issued the notice to Twitter in February 2023, before the social media company merged with Musk’s X Corp, incorporated in Nevada, United States, in March of the year past.
The case relates to the company’s response in March 2023, which was said to be from Twitter Inc, which did not exist at the time.
eSafety argues in its concise statement that although the notice was initially issued to Twitter Inc, X Corp was able to respond to the notice.
X Corp is defending the case, and two legal experts will be called in at Friday’s court hearing when the matter comes up for hearing later this year.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant Inman Grant announced on Wednesday that she had dropped her battle with the social media company over its refusal to remove videos of a knife attack on a Sydney bishop.
The court heard the case would hinge on how foreign regulatory obligations are treated under Nevada law.
The matter will return to court later this year.
Earlier this week, X won a major legal victory over the eSafety Commissioner, who announced he had dropped his battle with the social media company over its refusal to remove videos of a stabbing attack on a Sydney bishop.
The Electronic Security Commission was trying to force X to remove videos of an alleged terrorist attack in which Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed during a live-streamed sermon.
X Corp initially agreed to ‘geo-block’ the content, which restricted local access, but claimed the Australian government lacked the authority to force a global ban.
Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant Inman Grant announced on Wednesday those procedures would be suspended.
