Australia PM calls Elon Musk an 'arrogant billionaire'
By Hannah Ritchie
Australia’s leader has called Elon Musk an “arrogant billionaire” in an escalating feud over X’s reluctance to remove footage of a church stabbing.
On Monday, an Australian court ordered Mr Musk’s social media firm – formerly called Twitter – to hide videos of last week’s attack in Sydney.
X previously said it would comply “pending a legal challenge”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s criticism followed Mr Musk using a meme to accuse his government of censorship.
On Tuesday, Mr Albanese told ABC News that Mr Musk “thinks he’s above the law but also above common decency”.
Last week Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, an independent regulator, threatened X and other social media companies with hefty fines if they did not remove videos of the stabbing at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church, which police have called a terror attack.
X has argued the order is “not within the scope of Australian law”.
The commissioner sought a court injunction after saying it was clear that X was allowing users outside Australia to continue accessing footage.
