Elon Musk's X Corp ordered to pay $750,000 after admitting it contravened Australian child protection request
Elon Musk's social media platform did not comply with an order from Australia's eSafety commissioner. (AP Photo: Leon Neal)
In short:
A Federal Court judge has ordered Elon Musk's X Corp to pay a $650,000 fine after it admitted to failing to comply with an order from the eSafety commissioner to provide information on the company's child protection measures.
The move brings to an end a three-year court battle between X and commissioner Julie Inman Grant, who has repeatedly clashed with Mr Musk and his companies over issues of censorship and child protection.
What's next?
X Corp has 45 days to pay the fine, plus $100,000 to cover the commissioner's legal fees.
Australia's Federal Court has ordered Elon Musk's social media company X Corp to pay $750,000 after it admitted to failing to comply with an order to provide information about steps it has taken to stop child exploitation.
In an order published online this morning, Federal Court judge Michael Wheelahan said the company had 45 days to pay a $650,000 fine and $100,000 in legal costs to the government, bringing an end to a three-year court saga.
"The respondent admits that it contravened the act," said Christopher Tran, a lawyer for eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant, referring to Australia's Online Safety Act during the Federal Court hearing this morning.
"There was ongoing noncompliance for some 38 days."
The notice from the commissioner was first issued in early 2023, when Ms Inman Grant asked some of the world's largest technology companies to provide a report on what they were doing about child abuse material appearing on their platforms.
Julie Inman Grant says big tech must engage in "meaningful transparency". (ABC News: Keana Naughton)
A reporting notice, issued under Australia's Online Safety Act, was sent to Twitter in February that year, and Twitter merged with X the following month.
Arguments presented to the court by X Corp against complying with the notice included that Twitter no longer existed as a legal entity and that X did not carry its predecessor's regulatory obligations in Australia.
Those arguments were rejected by the Federal Court in July of last year. However, X had refused to pay the $610,500 fine levied against it.
Justice Wheelahan's order raises that amount to $650,000, and adds the commissioner's legal costs.
Questioning big tech 'a key part of our work', commissioner says
In a statement issued after the judge's decision, Ms Inman Grant said it was critical that tech companies engaged in "meaningful transparency", rather than simply offering form responses to questions around child safety.
"This is not only a key part of our work as Australia's online safety regulator, it also provides the Australian public with important information about how these companies are tackling the worst-of-the-worst content on their platforms,"she said.
Ms Inman Grant has repeatedly clashed with Mr Musk and his companies in her role as eSafety commissioner, over issues of censorship and transparency related to its internal processes to protect children.
Mr Musk has issued a slew of public criticisms of the commissioner in response, labelling her an "unelected bureaucrat" and the "eSafety Commissar", which Ms Inman Grant told the ABC had resulted in her receiving death threats and the doxxing of her children.
The commissioner dropped a separate case against X in 2024 aiming to force it to remove graphic footage of a Sydney church stabbing from its platform.
ABC/Wires