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.
The notice, issued in February 2023, required the platform to prepare a report about the extent to which it had complied with eSafety’s expectations for the year leading up to January. The deadline for submission was March 29, and the required form included 31 numbered questions, many with sub-questions.
While some information was provided, the Commissioner informed the court that the responses were “absent, incomplete, or inaccurate.”