Australia: Court orders X to block footage of Muslim teen stabbing bishop
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If this were footage of a “white supremacist” attacking someone, would the court have ordered it to be taken down? Is this part of the ongoing effort to ensure that no one thinks ill of Islam?
“Court orders Elon Musk’s X to block Sydney church stabbing footage,” SBS, April 22, 2024:
An Australian court has ordered billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform to block every user from seeing violent footage related to a Sydney church stabbing, not just block it for Australian audiences.
Amid political unity against X Corp’s defiant stance to keep potentially harmful content online, the nation’s internet cop launched the matter in the Federal Court on Monday evening.
During a hastily arranged hearing, a barrister for the eSafety Commissioner said the “graphic and violent” video remained online on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A 16-year-old boy has since been charged with a terrorism offence over the stabbings of Assyrian bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Father Isaac Royel during a live-streamed service last Monday night.
The stabbing attack led to a riot outside Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley.
In a video that has been circulating, the alleged attacker referred to insults against “my Prophet” before the stabbing.
It would cause “irreparable harm” if it continued to circulate, lawyer Christopher Tran said.
The commissioner had ordered the removal of the footage but X’s response was to block the video to Australian IP addresses, the court was told.
That left it accessible to international users or Australians using an overseas-based virtual private network.
“That was a choice, they could have done more,” Christopher Tran said.
He submitted that X should shield the footage from all users, not just Australians….
