Watan-A verbal war has erupted between billionaire Elon Musk and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over a court order by an Australian court for the “X” platform to hide posts related to the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney.
Albanese criticized “Musk” on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, describing him as an “arrogant billionaire” for refusing the Australian government’s calls to remove the content of the posts.
Elon Musk criticizes the ruling
“X” banned the content for its users in Australia. However, it stated that it would not ban it for users outside the country, arguing that the government does not have the authority to dictate the content that its users can see worldwide.
Elon Musk Elon Musk Musk criticized the Australian Prime Minister, saying that the ruling means any state can control “the internet entirely.”
Video clips of the attack posted online showed the attacker, restrained by worshipers, screaming at the bishop for insulting Islam, while police accused a 16-year-old teenager of committing a terrorist crime because of the attack.
The Electronic Safety Commissioner demanded that the “X” platform remove some of the posts that openly commented on the attack, which could include video clips.
Court documents showed that Judge Geoffrey Kennett ordered the “X” platform, during a hearing, to block access to those posts until Wednesday afternoon, pending further consideration.
Albanese: “We will do what is necessary to confront this arrogant billionaire”
Albanese said that social media platforms must bear their social responsibility, pointing out that Musk is struggling to keep violent content on his platform.
He added during his interview with the National Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday: “We will do what is necessary to confront this arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law, and even common decency.”
Albanese explained that “what the Electronic Safety Commissioner is doing is carrying out its duty to protect the interests of Australians.”
Musk had earlier dubbed the Electronic Safety Commissioner as the “Australian Censorship Commissioner,” prompting Albanese to rebuke the platform, describing its battle against removing violent content as “unusual.”
Musk said, in a post on “X,” hours before Albanese’s comments were released: “I would like to take a moment to thank the Prime Minister (of Australia) for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful platform.”
Musk posted an emoji showing that “X” symbolizes “freedom of expression and truth,” while other social media platforms are depicted as platforms representing “censorship and propaganda.”