The eSafety’s legal battle with Elon Musk’s X over videos of the alleged Wakeley stabbing have been abandoned after a series of blows for the government body.
Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant announced Wednesday she would drop the proceedings after requesting the social media giant entirely remove the shocking footage from its platform.
“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,” Ms Inman-Grant said.
“As a result, I have decided to discontinue the proceedings in the Federal Court against X Corp in relation to the matter of extreme violent material depicting the real-life graphic stabbing of a religious leader at Wakeley in Sydney on 15 April 2024.”
The commissioner, whose call for the video’s removal drew criticism across the political spectrum for her legal initiative, said her motive for removing the video was to prevent copycat attackers.
“Our sole goal and focus in issuing our removal notice was to prevent this extremely violent footage from going viral, potentially inciting further violence and inflicting more harm on the Australian community. I stand by my investigators and the decisions eSafety made,” she said.
“Most Australians accept this kind of graphic material should not be on broadcast television, which begs an obvious question of why it should be allowed to be distributed freely and accessible online 24/7 to anyone, including children.”
Ms Inman-Grant said eSafety will now focus on X’s merits review it launched with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
X account said it welcomed Ms Inman-Grant’s move as the content did not violate the social media giant’s rules.
“This case has raised important questions on how legal powers can be used to threaten global censorship of speech, and we are heartened to see that freedom of speech has prevailed,” the X Global Government Affairs account wrote.
The dropping of the case comes after Musk dug in on X’s staunch free speech approach when legal proceedings first arose.
When replying to a post that took issue with the eSafety commissioner’s call for X to censor content outside of Australia’s borders, Musk hit out at the Australian government.
“That is exactly the issue,” he wrote.
“Should the eSafety Commissar (an unelected official) in Australia have authority over all countries on Earth?”
The row continued when the tech billionaire came to blows with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
In a post that quoted comments by Mr Albanese where he said: “By and large, people responded appropriately to the calls by the eSafety Commissioner. X chose not to,” Musk replied mockingly.
“I’d like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one,” the billionaire said.
Mr Albanese returned serve to the billionaire, arguing Musk was sowing division within the country following the circulation of the distressing video.
“Well this is a bloke who’s chosen ego and showing violence over common sense,” the PM told Sky News Australia’s Peter Stefanovic.
“I think that Australians will shake their head when they think that this billionaire is prepared to go to court, fighting for the right, to sow division and to show violent videos, which are very distressing.
“He is in social media, but he has a social responsibility, in order to have that social licence. And what has occurred here is that the eSafety commissioner has made very sensible suggestions. Other social media companies have complied, without complaint. But this bloke thinks he’s above the Australian law, that he’s above common decency.”
The PM continued to attack the X owner as “out of touch” and called on the billionaire to adhere with what Australians needed at a trying time.
“And I say to Elon Musk that he is so out of touch with what the Australian public want,” Mr Albanese said.
“This has been a distressing time and I find this bloke on the other side of the world, from his billionaires’ establishments trying to lecture Australians on free speech – well I won’t cop it and Australians won’t either.”
While Musk came to blows with the PM over the video, Ms Inman-Grant suffered from the X owner’s attack, leading to a pile-on from his millions of followers and the personal information of her children being leaked.
“He issued a dog-whistle to 181 million users around the globe, which resulted in death threats directed at me, which resulted in doxxing of my family members, including my three children, so I think with great power comes with great responsibility,” she told the ABC.
“Targeting a regulator who is here to protect the citizens of Australia is really beyond the pale, but it’s not surprising [from Mr Musk].”
The footage at the centre of the legal battle showed a teenage boy allegedly stab Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel multiple times at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, Western Sydney.
A livestream video of the alleged stabbing circulated on social media before the federal government ordered it be removed within Australia.