🔗 Share this article

Following a notable regulatory appeal, the Australian classification review board has overturned a earlier ruling that prevented Australian-based users from accessing recorded content of the shooting incident involving conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. This challenge was lodged by Elon Musk's social media platform, which contested an order sought by the national eSafety commissioner.

Details of the Original Ban

After the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in September, the regulator applied to the classification board to officially classify the available footage. The board initially ruled the content was "refused classification", a designation that allowed the regulator to instruct platforms to restrict access to the posts for users in Australia.

Elon Musk's company filed an appeal for a pair of videos depicting the Kirk incident. Additionally, it contested a comparable ban on another piece of footage—depicting the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina train—which had likewise been deemed "unacceptable for distribution".

The Platform's Case and Board's Decision

Arguing its case, X contended that the footage in question contained only a short moment of violence with the weapon not shown. It was argued the footage was grainy and the camera quickly panned away from the victim to the surrounding crowd.

The social media giant maintained the footage was not overly graphic, gratuitous, or offensive, stating it served as a factual documentation of "a significant incident of historical and political significance that generated extensive public discourse". The platform drew a parallel between the video and the well-known recording of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Most members of the classification panel concluded that, "despite the terrible nature of the event," the video did not reach a level that was gratuitous, exploitative or offensive enough to justify a complete ban. The board suggested that a more detailed depiction with alternative commentary might have resulted in a different ruling. Consequently, the panel changed the classification of the videos to R18+.

A Dissenting Opinion

A minority on the panel held a contrary view, contending the post was "a shareable video for the likely purposes of entertainment and/or benefit (such as likes, shares, or views)". This view stated the comparison to the JFK assassination tape was flawed, as the Kennedy video was made public years after the event, "once emotions around the matter had calmed".

Reactions to the Decision

Posting on its global government affairs account, the platform expressed approval of the decision.

"We challenged this decision to defend freedom of expression and the critical nature of access to information about matters of public significance. Our commitment remains committed to protecting these principles."

Representatives for the safety regulator acknowledged the ruling, but noted that the new R18+ rating now means platforms "must take steps to prevent R18+ material being displayed to users under 18".

Recent Developments on Violent Content

Separately, the eSafety commissioner did not issue take-down orders to platforms this week regarding disturbing videos from the Sydney beach incident circulating on social media. The regulator stated that while the images were upsetting, they did not reach the required standard for a "refused classification" rating.

Instead, platforms have been instructed to apply sensitive content labels and screens, such as blurring, on this material in line with their existing community guidelines.