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X has failed to avoid a $400,000 fine from Australian regulators due to its alleged failures to help clean up child sex material on the platform.
The eSafety Commissioner, the country’s internet safety regulator, ordered X—which was then called Twitter— to hand over information about the steps it was taking to fight child abuse on the platform in 2022. It was then handed a fine in 2023 for failing to do so.
But the social network argued it was no longer under any obligation to pay, as Twitter “no longer existed” as it was merged with Musk’s X Corp back in April 2023.
Australian Judge Michael Wheelahan labeled parts of X’s defense as "superficial" and requiring "leaps of logic," and is now undertaking civil proceedings against the company.
Fighting the fine may ultimately not have been in X’s best interests.
According to Australia’s Online Safety Act, companies that fail to comply with a reporting notice can be liable for fines of up to $530,000.
This isn’t the first major battle that Musk’s X has had with the Australian regulator either
In April 2024, an Australian court ordered the social media company to take down footage of a stabbing in a Sydney church where a priest was killed by a 16-year-old. He was later charged with domestic terrorism.
Musk criticized the regulator in a post on X: "if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, which is what the Australian 'eSafety Commissar' is demanding, then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire Internet?"
The court eventually withdrew the order, and videos of the stabbing remain on the platform.
“eSafety remains committed to exercising provisions available under the Online Safety Act to hold all tech companies to account without fear or favor, ensuring they comply with the laws of Australia and prioritize the safety and wellbeing of all Australians,” eSafety Commissioner Inman Grant said in a press release following the ruling.
In September, the billionaire even went as far as to call the Anthony Albanese-led Australian government "Fascists" over a misinformation law that could affect social media companies.
Australia is not the only country where X has currently locked horns with the regulator.
Last month, Brazil's Supreme Court banned X due to failing to act on accounts that were allegedly posting disinformation meant to undermine democracy in the Latin American country.