An Australian court upheld a verdict on Friday requiring Elon Musk’s X to pay a fine of A$610,500 (about $418,000) for failing to respond to a regulator’s request for information on anti-child-abuse procedures.
The court dismissed X’s petition on Friday and mandated that Elon Musk’s business cover all costs.
When Elon Musk took Twitter private and combined it into a new business in 2022, X first disputed the fine, claiming that this released the company from having to comply with the order made in early 2023. In contrast, the Australian Federal Court held that the platform was nonetheless required to transmit the information.
This puts a stop to a case that started when the platform was fined by Australia’s eSafety commissioner for failing to appropriately respond to enquiries on measures to suppress content that depicts child abuse.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant pointed out that it might have established a risky precedent if approved. She argued that such business mergers could allow overseas companies to circumvent regulatory requirements in Australia, undermining internet safety measures.
Social media businesses are required by domestic law to explain how they are adhering to basic standards for online safety.
The fine is related to an ongoing investigation into the management of hazardous content by tech companies, such as X, with a focus on kid protection.
X was unable to give the exact information that the eSafety Commissioner had asked for on the platform’s anti-child abuse measures.
Due to the company’s noncompliance, in addition to the punishment, civil procedures have also been started against it.
We earlier reported that a court in Australia has decided that a transgender woman’s exclusion from a female-only social media network constituted unlawful discrimination against her.
