Anthony Albanese said the decision to challenge an order to remove content related to the church stabbing was “unusual”.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticized the “unusual” decision by social media platform
Over the weekend, X, owned by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, announced it would challenge an order to remove content related to the stabbing of an Assyrian Christian bishop during a church service in Sydney's west.
E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant said last week that a notice had been issued to Company X to remove material depicting “gratuitous or disturbing violence with a high degree of impact or detail.”
“I think it is extraordinary that X has chosen not to comply and is trying to make their point. We know that overwhelmingly Australians want misinformation and disinformation to stop. ,” Albanese said at a press conference.
“This is not about freedom of expression, this is about something that is simply not true, that everyone knows is not true, and has been replicated and weaponized to cause division and, in this case, advance interests. It's about the dangerous effects that can occur at times. You could make negative statements and simply inflame a very difficult situation. And social media has a social responsibility.”
X said on Saturday it did not believe the order was within Australian law and had “complied with the order pending the legal challenge”.
“This is a tragic event and we will not allow people to glorify it or call for more violence. As is often the case when events of great public interest occur, “There is a public conversation happening in Australia and across Australia about this incident,” the social media company said in a statement.
“While X respects the right of countries to enforce their laws within their jurisdictions, the eSafety Commissioner does not have the authority to determine what content X users can view around the world. We will firmly challenge this illegal and dangerous approach in court.”
Mar Mari Emmanuel, a prominent conservative leader of the Assyrian Church of Christ Good Shepherd in Waley, Sydney's west, was attacked last Monday during a mass service broadcast online and suffered lacerations to his head. I lost it.
More than 50 police officers were injured and 20 police cars were damaged in the riot outside the church.
Emanuel, who is recovering in hospital, released a message last week saying he had forgiven his attacker, saying he was “fine and recovering quickly.”
On Friday, police charged a 16-year-old boy with terrorism charges in connection with the stabbing.