Elon Musk hits out at Australia over ruling to hide stabbing videos

SYDNEY: Tech billionaire Elon Musk has hit out at Australia over the country's attempts to ban footage of a Sydney church stabbing on his social media platform X.

The Australian court on Monday evening granted a two-day injunction, ordering the platform to hide videos of the April 15 stabbing for all users globally.

"Our concern is that if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, which is what the Australian 'eSafety Commissar' is demanding, then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire Internet," Musk wrote on X.

"We have already censored the content in question for Australia, pending legal appeal, and it is stored only on servers in the USA," he added.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday that Musk was an "arrogant billionaire."

"We'll do what's necessary to take on this arrogant billionaire who thinks he's above the law, but also above common decency," he said.

"What the e-Safety Commissioner is doing is doing her job to protect the interests of Australians. And the idea that someone would go to court for the right to put up violent content on a platform shows how out-of-touch Mr Musk is."

Albanese said social media needed to have social responsibility with it. "Mr Musk is not showing any," he said.

X had earlier blocked the posts in Australia pending a legal challenge. The case is expected to be heard in court again on Wednesday for an argument about a permanent suppression.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with a terrorism offence after two people were injured in the alleged stabbing at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, western Sydney, on April 15. The church attack came days after six people were killed and dozens injured in a stabbing at a Sydney shopping centre.