eSafety commissioner Julie Inman-Grant drops case against Elon Musk’s X over church attack

Legal proceedings against Elon Musk‘s X to have images of a stabbed bishop removed from the social media platform have been dropped by Australia’s internet watchdog.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant announced on Wednesday that she would withdraw the Class 1 takedown notice after a failed attempt to force X to hide the footage until the lawsuit was resolved.

“Today I have decided to join the action regarding my Class 1 Removal Notice with X Corp at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal,” she said in a statement.

“After weighing multiple considerations, including litigation in multiple cases, I have concluded that this option is likely to have the most positive outcome for the online safety of all Australians, especially children.

“As a result, I have decided to discontinue proceedings in federal court against X Corp. to end.’

The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant (pictured), has abandoned legal action against X Corp that would require them to block explicit images of an alleged terror attack

The social media platform, owned by billionaire Elon Musk (pictured), refused to remove the images, arguing that the offer violates the principle of freedom of expression.

Ms Inman-Grant brought the legal battle to Mr Musk and X after clips of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed during a live-streamed sermon on April 15 remained on the platform for Australian users to see.

The platform refused to remove the images even after an order from the Federal Court, arguing that the offer violates the principle of freedom of expression.

Mr Musk continued to hammer this point as he took aim at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, describing Ms Inman-Grant as the “censorship commissioner”.

The commissioner said other major tech companies such as Meta, TikTok and Google have complied with the takedown request.

“This is because the video violated their terms of service and standards of decency,” Ms. Inman-Grant wrote.

“Thus, it was a reasonable expectation when we made our request to remove extremely graphic video footage of an attack that X Corp would take action consistent with these publicly stated policies and practices.”

The legal battle with billionaire Musk was also an “opportunity to test (eSafety’s) new regulatory powers,” the commissioner said.

Despite the countermeasures, she fired a warning shot at other tech companies, adding that eSafety would hold them to account with the “full range of facilities available… without fear or favour.”

‘We will not deviate from this commitment.’