Musk’s X fined millions for ignoring Australia’s online child safety law

An Australian court has ordered Elon Musk’s social media company X Corp to pay AUD$750,000 (about US$463,000) after the company admitted it failed to comply with a government order requiring information about its efforts to combat child exploitation material online.

In an order published on May 20, a Federal Court judge gave the company 45 days to pay an AUD$650,000 penalty along with AUD$100,000 in legal costs to the government, bringing a three-year legal dispute to a close, as Australian media reports.

“The respondent admits that it contravened the act,” said Christopher Tran, a lawyer representing Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, referring to the country’s Online Safety Act during the Federal Court hearing.

The dispute began in early 2023, when Inman Grant asked several major technology companies to detail what measures they were taking to prevent child abuse material from appearing on their platforms.

A formal reporting notice under Australia’s Online Safety Act was sent to Twitter in February 2023. The platform merged into X the following month.

X Corp argued in court that Twitter no longer existed as a legal entity and that X did not inherit its predecessor’s regulatory obligations in Australia.

The Federal Court rejected those arguments in July last year. Despite the ruling, X refused to pay the original AUD$610,500 fine imposed by regulators.

The judge’s latest order increased the penalty to AUD$650,000 and added the commissioner’s legal costs.

In a statement issued after the ruling, Inman Grant said it was essential for technology companies to engage in “meaningful transparency” rather than offering generic responses to questions about 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.

Musk has repeatedly criticized the commissioner publicly, calling her Australia’s “Censorship Commissar.” Grant told Australia’s ABC that the attacks led to death threats against her and the doxxing of her children.

By Nazrin Sadigova