Elon Musk steps up war with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner

Elon Musk’s X is seeking to overturn a fine from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner – who he called the country’s ‘censorship commissar’ – over its failure to disclose how it was combating online child abuse.

Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant fined X $610,500 in late 2023, after the social media giant missed the deadline to say how it was combating child sexual exploitation and abuse on its platform. Picture: Martin Ollman

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Elon Musk’s X Corp has intensified its fight with Australia’s ­eSafety Commissioner, seeking to overturn a two-year-old, six-figure fine from the watchdog.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant fined X Corp, formerly known as Twitter, $610,500 in late 2023, after the social media giant missed the deadline to say how it was combating child sexual exploitation and abuse on its platform.

But X Corp has argued in the Federal Court on Wednesday that it shouldn’t have to pay the fine because it was levied at Twitter, which no longer exists.

Mr Musk bought Twitter for $US44bn in October 2022 and rebadged it X in July 2023 – two months before the eSafety commissioner fined the company.

It is the second time X has tried to overturn the fine. Last year it argued the fine was issued to Twitter, not X, and it therefore shouldn’t have to pay up. Justice Michael Wheelahan dismissed that argument.

But on Wednesday X Corp’s barrister, Bret Walker SC, said Justice Wheelahan made a mistake, and the eSafety commissioner should have issued a new notice to X given Twitter had “ceased to exist”.

Elon Musk has accused the Albanese government of ‘fascist’ behaviour in regards to the misinformation bill. Picture: AFP

Mr Walker argued that while under US law X assumed the “liabilities and benefits” of the previous entity, this could not be extended to the unexpired period for that entity “to do something in compliance with a reporting process”.

The eSafety Commissioner’s barrister Stephen Lloyd rejected Mr Walker’s argument, saying the notice to comply continued over to the new entity.

Ms Inman Grant declined to comment on Wednesday but said last year that if X was successful in overturning the fine, it could “set the concerning precedent that a foreign company’s merger with another foreign company might enable it to avoid regulatory obligations in Australia”.

“eSafety remains committed to exercising provisions available under the Online Safety Act to hold all tech companies to account without fear or favour, ensuring they comply with the laws of Australia and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of all Australians,” Ms Inman Grant said.

Mr Musk with US President Donald Trump at the White House on March 11. Picture: AFP

Mr Musk, the world’s richest person, has been critical of the eSafety Commissioner and the Australian government.

The Tesla chief executive and SpaceX founder accused the Albanese government for being “fascists” in relation to the mis­information bill.

Mr Musk also has called Ms Inman Grant the “censorship commissar” over her attempt to force X to take down a video of a stabbing at a Sydney church not just in Australia but across the world last year. Ms Inman Grant later abandoned that fight.

The billionaire – who is one of Donald Trump’s biggest backers and has an influential role in the White House – said the Albanese government was creating “a backdoor wall to control access to the internet by all Australians” after it banned children accessing social media, and is now part of a group accusing Australia of “unfair trade practices”.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association – which represents the interests of Mr Musk, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and other US tech ­titans – lodged a 45-page submission this month taking aim at Australia, among other nations.

It accused Australia of unfairly targeting them through the News Media Bargaining Code that requires them to pay for local Australian news content.

Originally published as Elon Musk steps up war with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner