X must pay fine over child protection dispute

An Australian court has upheld a ruling requiring Elon Musk’s X, previously known as Twitter, to pay a $418,000 fine. The fine was issued for failing to cooperate with a request from the eSafety Commissioner regarding anti-child-abuse measures on the platform.

X had contested the penalty, arguing that it was no longer bound by regulatory obligations following a corporate restructure under Musk’s ownership. However, the court ruled that the platform was still required to respond to the request made by the Australian internet safety regulator.

The eSafety Commissioner stated that accepting X’s argument could have set a worrying precedent for foreign companies merging to avoid regulatory responsibilities. Civil proceedings against X have also begun due to its noncompliance.

Musk’s platform has clashed with authorities in Australia before, notably in a case where X refused to remove content showing a stabbing incident. The company claimed that one country should not dictate global online content.