Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken out against billionaire and X owner Elon Musk, specifically as he fights a court order from the country.
The order relates to videos shared on X showing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel getting attacked by a person with a knife, with an Australian judge ruling on Monday that X must block all users from viewing the video. Albanese said in an interview that by fighting the court’s order, Musk is “fighting for the right to sow divisions and to show violent videos which are very distressing.”
“But this bloke thinks he’s above the Australian law, that he’s above common decency, and I’ll tell you what — I say to Elon Musk that he is so out of touch with what the Australian public want,” Albanese said.
Musk has since responded to Albanese’s comments in a post on X, saying that no president, prime minister, or judge has complete authority over the world. He added that while X adheres to the laws of countries, it does not obey a specific country’s law on a global scale.
Musk added that he was concerned about countries censoring content around the world, “which is what the Australian ‘eSafety Commissar’ is demanding.” He also clarified the video of the attack has already been censored in Australia pending a legal appeal and that the video is stored in servers in the United States.
The tech mogul then boasted about X’s growth in popularity in the country, with the platform’s app ahead of other news apps in downloads.
“The Australian people want the truth,” Musk posted. “X is the only one standing up for their rights.”
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The stabbing of the bishop occurred on April 15, with a 16-year-old boy charged with terrorism offenses. The attack has been declared a terrorist act due to the teenager’s suspected religious motivation, as well as how he allegedly traveled up to 90 minutes from his home to the church.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Australian government for comment.
