Sydney: The Australian Federal Court has ordered ‘X’ to withdraw from social media the posts containing the video footage of the teenager trying to stab the bishop in the Sydney church. The Australian court also issued an interim order after the E-Safety Commissioner asked for the removal of scenes of attacks that create fear and insecurity in the community. The court observed that the continued circulation of such violent posts would cause irreparable harm.
Last Monday, the live footage of the stabbing of Bishop Marri Emmanuel of the Assyrian Orthodox Church in the church was widely circulated in ‘Exile’.
The e-Safety Commissioner has warned X and Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) to remove content containing offensive footage from social media within 24 hours or face fines. But X has taken the position that such posts cannot be withdrawn at the global level. The representatives of X had also informed that they are ready to fight legally with the e-Safety Commissioner on this issue. After this
The eSafety Commissioner approached the court on Monday seeking an immediate ban.
Posts containing the attack video were blocked only in Australia. But e-Safety’s lawyer Christopher Tran told Justice Geoffrey Kennett at Monday’s hearing that such posts are still circulating globally. Christopher Trance also argued that this meant that X was not complying with the Online Safety Act.
The e-Safety Commissioner requested the court to order X action to prevent the posts from being viewed and shared globally.
Meanwhile, X’s representative informed that the case should be postponed. He said he had not received any instructions from the parties in this regard as it was early morning at X’s headquarters in San Francisco.
Justice Geoffrey Kennett said it would be better to issue an interim order pending the next hearing. Then the posts were banned globally. The interim order will be in effect until 5pm Sydney time on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described X’s decision to challenge the e-Safety Commissioner’s order as “unusual”. Albanese criticized the airing of the violent video and said that the footage had increased the pain of many people.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also expressed his support for e-Safety’s work and accused X of showing an attitude of being above the country’s laws.
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