Court Rules Australia’s Internet Czar Has No Power to Block Content Overseas

The judge found that trying to continue to ban the spread of a video on X globally would have been overreach by local authorities.

The logo of social media platform X on March 11, 2024. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

The Federal Court has confirmed that Australia’s internet content regulator, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, does not have the power to block content overseas.

The commissioner had sought an interim injunction against X Corp to stop the spread of an 11-second video showing the stabbing attack of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, western Sydney, which occurred on April 15.