Elon Musk's social media platform X has been fined $650,000 after it failed to fully comply with an eSafety transparency notice seeking information about steps it took to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse material.
In the Federal Court, Justice Wheelahan said the reporting requirements under the Australia's Online Safety Act are an essential aspect of enforcement.
“Where the operator of a large social media platform has failed to comply with those reporting requirements, the public has an interest in the commissioner seeking and obtaining a public declaration of contravention, which will contribute to a deterrent effect,” the judge said.
"A penalty near the maximum is appropriate in the case of the respondent, which is a substantial corporation so that it operates as a real deterrent and is not simply a cost of doing business."
The penalty hearing ends a three-year legal process which reinforces technology companies offering services to Australians are obliged to comply with Australian regulations.
“Meaningful transparency is critical to holding technology companies to account,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
“In early 2023, we asked some of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Twitter, to report on steps they were taking to comply with the Australian Basic Online Safety Expectations in relation to the proliferation of child sexual exploitation and abuse materials on their platforms.
“This is not only a key part of our work as Australia’s online safety regulator, it also provides the Australian public with important information about how these companies are tackling the worst-of-the-worst content on their platforms.”
In July last year, the Full Federal Court held that X Corp was required to respond to eSafety’s transparency notice.
That ruling followed X Corp’s earlier appeal of the Federal Court’s decision in October 2024, which found it was required to comply with the transparency notice eSafety gave to Twitter, as X was formerly known, in February 2023. Twitter merged into X Corp in March 2023.
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