Australian court fines X$418,000 – Vote out of Nigeria

An Australian court on Friday upheld a ruling requiring Elon Musk’s X to pay a fine of A$610,500 (about $418,000) for failing to comply with the regulator’s request for information on child abuse measures.

Mr to fight the platform.

Musk took X, then called Twitter, private in 2022. However, the company argued that it was not required to respond to the early 2023 notice because it was incorporated into a new corporate entity controlled by Musk, which eliminated liability.

“Had X Corp’s argument been accepted by the Court, it could have set a troubling precedent that a merger between two foreign companies could allow them to avoid legal responsibilities in Australia,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said after the ruling.

Also read: Brazilian court orders X to pay $5 million before resuming services

eSafety has also initiated civil proceedings against X for non-compliance.

This incident is not the first conflict between Musk and Australia’s internet safety regulator; earlier this year, the eSafety Commissioner ordered X to remove posts depicting a bishop in Australia being stabbed during a sermon.

X has challenged this order before the court, with the argument that a supervisor from one country is not allowed to dictate what internet users can see worldwide, and ultimately keep the messages online after the Australian regulator has dropped his case.

Musk labeled the order as censorship and described it as part of a plan by the World Economic Forum to impose global eSafety rules.