Elon Musk's X sues the Australian government in 'free speech' battle after its ... trends now
Elon Musk's X is suing the Australian government after its 'world-first' E-Safety Commissioner ordered an 'offensive' post to be removed from the platform.
Daily Mail Australia last week revealed that X faced an $800,000 fine if it did not remove a post written by Canadian man Chris Elston, in which he misgendered and made 'disparaging' remarks about an Australian citizen, Teddy Cook.
Cook, 45, a female-to-male trans man who has advocated for taxpayer-funded surgeries for all transgender Australians, was controversially appointed to a World Health Organisation expert panel.
X, formerly called Twitter, complied with the request of the government-run E-Safety Commissioner and geo-blocked the post in Australia.
But the demand backfired spectacularly when it led to the offending post being re-shared in a different format and viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
Now, X has revealed it will mount a legal challenge against the Commissioner to 'protect its user's right to free speech'.
Elon Musk's X platform is suing the Australian government after its 'world-first' E-Safety Commissioner ordered an 'offensive' post to be removed from X
The government-funded body is run by former Twitter Director of Public Policy, Australia & SE Asia, Julie Inman-Grant (pictured), who receives an annual salary of almost $445,000
'Earlier this week, X was ordered by the Australian E-Safety Commissioner, subject to an approximately $800,000 AUD fine, to remove a user's post,' a statement from X's Global Government Affairs team said.
'The post had criticized an individual appointed by the World Health Organization to serve as an expert on transgender issues.
'X is withholding the post in Australia in compliance with the order but intends to file a legal challenge to the order to protect its user's right to free speech.'
It is understood the e-Safety Commissioner is yet to receive a formal legal challenge.
If X follows through, the challenge will likely take the form of a judicial review in the Federal Court.
X is currently engaged in a separate judicial review in the Federal Court over its alleged failure to provide information to the e-Safety Commissioner about how the platform was tackling child abuse material on the platform.
Mr Elston's alleged offence came when he shared a Daily Mail story in late February about Mr Cook.
Cook's now-private social media posts are awash with X-rated material, including public nudity, bondage parties, trans orgies and even a photo of a man apparently having sex with a dog.
While Daily Mail Australia does not suggest those revelations should exclude Cook from advising the WHO on trans healthcare, some have questioned his appropriateness for the role.
In his post, Mr Elston misgendered Cook and made other 'disparaging' remarks.
On March 22, Mr Elston received a letter from the Australian government-run eSafety Commissioner, demanding that he remove the 'deliberately degrading' post.
'An ordinary reasonable person in the position of the Complainant would regard the Material as being offensive,' an unnamed delegate of the eSafety Commissioner wrote to Mr Elston.
'This is because the Material singles out the Complainant to personify the poster's contempt
