eSafety Regime Just Plain Old Leftist Censorship …Oops, Censored! By James Reed
By way of background: In April 2024, Australia's eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, issued a directive to X (formerly Twitter) to remove 65 posts containing footage of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a service at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in Sydney. X responded by geo-blocking the content within Australia but did not remove it globally, leading the Commissioner to seek a federal court order for complete removal. Subsequently, the eSafety Commission withdrew its legal action, opting to await the outcome of a review of the Online Safety Act.
In a separate case, the Federal Court of Australia upheld a fine of A$610,500 against X for failing to provide information about its measures to combat child sexual exploitation on the platform. X had contested the fine, arguing that the notice was issued to Twitter before its rebranding to X Corp. The court dismissed this argument, emphasizing the company's obligation to comply with regulatory requirements.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has been issuing "informal notices" for posts to be censored. One case was X user, Celine Baumgarten, who criticised the operation of a "queer club" in Melbourne that was operating in a primary school, for children 8 to 12 years old. She said that this was not ok for children. Thus, she fell afoul of the spirit of the new Leftist morality, although no rules had been broken, but an "informal notice" led X to censor her. She took the case to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal who ruled in her favour, as the notice was not justified. One victory for free speech against this terrible regime.
The eSafety regime needs to be closed down.
Comments