An Australian senator has sung the praises of Elon Musk and X Corporation, putting him at odds with the prime minister and politicians from both major parties.
United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet described X as one of the only free-speech social media platforms out there, in response to a post from Mr. Musk.
Mr. Musk is at loggerheads with the Australian government over a global take-down order for posts related to the alleged stabbing of an Assyrian Christian bishop.
The company says it has removed content domestically, but baulked at the idea of removing content for its international user base, warning that exceeded the power of the Australian government.
On April 22, the X owner sarcastically praised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, sharing a post from an account called “data hazard” that included an extract from a recent press conference.
The prime minister quipped that other social media companies had followed directions from the eSafety commissioner, but not X.
“By and large, people responded appropriately to the calls by the eSafety commissioner. X chose not to. They stand, I think, I find it extraordinary that X chose not to comply and are trying to argue their case,” Mr. Albanese said.
The post that Mr. Musk shared, added the word “for censorship” to the prime minister’s comments and claimed that he had taken the time to advertise for Mr. Musk.
In a separate post, Mr. Musk shared a cartoon of a path leading to a castle with the words “free speech and truth” on the left with an icon of X.
Icons of YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads were depicted on the right with dark clouds and thunderstorms with the words, “censorship and propaganda.”
Mr. Musk added, “Don’t take my word for it, just ask the Australian PM.”
Labor Cabinet Launch Class Warfare Against Musk
Prime Minister Albanese has continued excoriating Mr. Musk on April 23.“What the eSafety commissioner is doing is doing her job to protect the interests of Australians.”
Crossbench Senator Jacqui Lambie went the extra step saying Mr. Musk should be “jailed.”
“The sooner that we can bring rules in or do something about this sort of game playing with our social media, the better off we’re going to be,” she said on ABC Radio National on April 23.
“But quite frankly, the power that that man has because of that platform that he’s on, it’s got to stop ... But leaving that out for our kids to see, for people that were family and friends out there and just letting that run on there, once again, that bloke has no conscience. He’s an absolute friggin disgrace, and there’s nothing else to say about Elon Musk.”
Court Orders X to Hide Stabbing Videos
The back and forth between the Australian government and Mr. Musk follows a Federal Court order to hide posts of the alleged terrorist attack at a Sydney Assyrian Christian church from all global users.Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant sought an urgent suppression order on the footage on Monday evening, claiming Australian users could still access the content via virtual private networks (VPNs).
The interim suppression order will apply for two days ahead of a new court hearing on April 24.
However, X has argued the posts did not violate the platform’s rules on “violent speech,” and revealed the eSafety demand threatened a daily fine of $785,000 (US$506,000) if it did not remove content from around the world.
On April 16, the eSafety commissioner said the material depicted “gratuitous or offence violence with a high degree of impact or detail.”
“That is why I am exercising my powers under the Online Safety Act to formally compel them to remove it.”
