Federal Court rules against X Corp for evading child sexual abuse transparency notice
On Friday, the Federal Court has ruled that Elon Musk’s X Corp, formerly Twitter, has to comply with an Australian child sexual abuse transparency notice that was issued early last year.
In February 2023, when the social media giant was still operating as Twitter, the Australian eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, issued X Corp an infringement notice because the company had not provided information about how it was meeting the basic online safety expectations in relation to child sexual exploitation and abuse material and activity on the app.
The notice required explanation for the period of January 2022 to January 2023.
X Corp argued the notice did not apply because the company did not exist when it was issued – as the company didn’t take over Twitter until March 2023.
The eSafety Commissioner took the matter to Federal Court after X Corp challenged a $610,500 fine in September of last year. She argued the report received from X Corp was absent of various responses, incomplete, or inaccurate.
On Friday, Justice Michael Wheelahan dismissed the proceeding.
He said children’s access to the internet is ubiquitous in this digital era, and the Online Safety Act is an important piece of Commonwealth legislature, and ordered X Corp to pay the eSafety Commissioner’s legal costs.
Inman Grant welcomed the Court’s rejection.
“Early last year, we asked some of the world’s biggest technology companies including Twitter to report on steps they were taking to comply with the Australian Government’s Basic Online Safety Expectations in relation to child sexual exploitation and abuse material on their platforms,” she said.
“Had X Corp’s argument been accepted by the Court it could have 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,” Inman Grant added.
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