A federal Australian court is attempting to force Elon Musk to block all X users globally from being able to see the video of the terrorist attack against Assyrian bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel last week, with the Prime Minister claiming X’s insistence on its right to keep the videos online violates “common decency.”
X’s commitment to total free speech, even if it means allowing violent content, is directly clashing against Australia’s internet policing brigade. A bureaucrat for the Australian internet agency complained that the “graphic and violent” was still online even after a judge ruled it must be removed.
The video was blocked for Australian IP addresses by X, but was still accessible to Australian users if they used a VPN. “That was a choice, they could have done more,” lawyer Christopher Tran said about the video, which he claimed would cause “irreparable harm” if allowed to continue proliferating online.
Therefore, the Australian “eSafety Commission,” which proudly describes itself as the world’s first government agency committed to ensuring the “protection” of citizens online, successfully convinced the Federal Court of Sydney to order a temporary global ban on posting the video to X. Tran was the lawyer who filed the order to block the video from all users.
I’d like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one https://t.co/EM0lF6n7SC
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2024
Responding to a hypothetical argument citing America’s first amendment rights, Tran argued this does not apply to depictions of violence.
In return, Elon Musk is accusing the Australian government of attempting to engage in suppression, terming the Commission “the Australian censorship commissar.” X said the internet censorship firm is engaging in an “unlawful and dangerous approach.” Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded by calling Musk an “arrogant billionaire” out of touch with the public. “Social media needs to have social responsibility with it,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of X Corporation, attorney Marcus Hoyne attempted to appeal the order, citing insufficient time to respond and faulty reasoning behind its universality. He was unsuccessful. The hearing for a permanent ban will be held on Wednesday.
PM Albanese said he found it “extraordinary that X chose not to comply and are trying to argue their case,” and added “this isn’t about freedom of expression […] This is about the dangerous implications that can occur when things that are simply not true … are replicated and weaponised in order to cause division.”
Australian politicians attacked Musk following his backlash, with Tanya Plibersek calling him an “egotistical billionaire,” Sarah Hanson-Young saying he is a “narcissistic cowboy,” and Simon Birmingham trashing X’s “ridiculous and preposterous argument” that videos of terrorist attacks fall under free speech.
As Valuetainment reported last week, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was attacked in the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney, Australia along with Father Isaac Royel by a 16-year-old boy who spoke in Arabic about the prophet Muhammad being insulted at the scene. The crime was classified as a terrorist act.
WARNING: Very disturbing to watch.
Mar Mari Emmanuel & some 55 people visited a Christian Chuch in Gaza Strip just a few weeks ago.
He delivered a powerful sermon afterwards his experience there.
Not sure who the attacker is.
Sending prayers to him, his family & congregation. https://t.co/wh6XOekCvX
— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) April 15, 2024
The mother of the attacker swears her son has not been radicalized, although he might have “anger management and behavioral issues” and a “short fuse.” “He always listened to music, he played the drums, he actually danced to the music. A radical person … would not do that,” she argued. Sydney-based physician and Muslim community leader James Rifi visited the boy in a hospital after the attack. “He kept apologizing to his mum and saying sorry and all that sort of thing, and he showed remorse for what he did,” Rifi told Sydney Radio 2GB. Rifi also claimed a specialist believes the teenager in on the autism spectrum.
Watch Patrick Bet-David interview Bishop Mar Mari Emanuel below. It has been suggested that comments about Islam the Bishop made in this video provoked the attack.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics and business for VT and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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