Good news - a win for free speech

Monday, 13 May 2024

A temporary order by Australia’s eSafety commissioner to block Australians from viewing footage of the alleged terrorist stabbing attack of Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has been refused, in a win for tech giant X.

In April, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant ordered X (formerly Twitter) remove access to the video for Australian users, slapping the footage with a Class 1 classification, reserved for high-impact violent or child sex abuse material.

While X complied with a take-down notice, “geo-blocking” the content, Australian users with VPNs could still watch the attack on the platform and the tech company has refused to totally remove the footage from its platform.

In a brief court hearing on Monday morning, Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett said: “In the this matter which I heard on Friday, the orders of the court will be that the application to extend the interlocutory injunction granted on the 22nd of April 2024, as extended on the 24th of April, is refused, and that the cost of the application are reserved.”