Australian court upholds $465,000 fine on X

An Australian federal court on Thursday upheld a fine against X for failing to comply with child internet safety regulations, capping a three-year legal fight between the platform’s owner Elon Musk and the government.

Under Australian law, internet regulator eSafety can fine firms that do not respond to demands for detailed information on how they are keeping children safe online.

eSafety approached what was then Twitter in February 2023, demanding the company explain how it was tackling the spread of child sexual abuse content.

The following month Twitter was merged into Musk’s newly formed X Corp, which was eventually fined for “incomplete” responses to the commission’s repeated requests.

A federal court ruled in October 2024 that X was required to respond to the notice and on Thursday the social media giant was ordered to pay a fine of AU$650,000 (US$464,900).

“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,” federal Justice Michael Wheelahan said.

The Australian government has been at the forefront of global efforts to rein in big tech, including with world-first laws imposed last year banning under-16s from accessing social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

A raft of nations are now reportedly mulling a similar social media crackdown, with documents obtained by AFP showing that Israel, the United Kingdom, Norway, and New Zealand met with Canberra officials after expressing an “interest” in the ban.

“Meaningful transparency is critical to holding technology companies to account,” eSafety head Julie Inman Grant said in response to Thursday’s federal court ruling.

“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,” she added.