Elon Musk’s X Corp has suffered a significant defeat in the Australian Federal Court, being ordered to comply with a “safety notice” issued by the eSafety Commissioner. The court ruled that the company cannot avoid responsibility for a fine or daily penalty for non-payment and must also pay the Commissioner’s court costs.
In October 2023 the Office of eSafety fined what was then Twitter $610,500 after it failed to satisfactorily answer questions about harmful content on its platform, particularly child sexual abuse material. This fine, issued under Australia’s Online Safety Act, could incur daily penalties of $780,000 for each additional day the company does not respond.
