A swathe of online commentators have received notice about a move by Australia’s eSafety commissioner to remove online content, featuring violent incidents, within Australia.
eSafety’s notices have largely targeted X and Meta regarding raw footage of the killings of Iryna Zarutska, Charlie Kirk, and the beheading of a Dallas motel manager.
Dutch online commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek, who has 1.1 million followers, said she had received a notice from the eSafety commissioner, telling her that her post about Zarutska’s murder was being withheld.
It also stated that X risked being fined $825,000 each day the post was not removed.
Vlaardingerbroek shared a copy of the eSafety commisioner’s notice requesting X remove the content
“In order to comply with X’s obligations under Australia’s local laws, we have withheld this content in Australia; the content remains available elsewhere,” it read. “The notice requires you to take all reasonable steps to remove class 1 material.”
Class 1A material refers to content like child exploitation material, extreme violence, or pro-terrorism related.
eSafety Says Social Media Platforms Had Been Notified Earlier
In a statement provided to The Epoch Times, the eSafety commissioner said earlier notices had been sent requesting content be removed voluntarily before the threat of fines were handed out.
“eSafety issued removal notices to both X and Meta. In its covering letters, eSafety confirmed that geo-blocking would be sufficient to comply with the notice,” an eSafety spokesperson said.
eSafety also clarified that removal notices only applied to graphic footage, not political commentary.
“eSafety’s notices applied only to the relevant graphic footage, assessed as [Refused Classification or RC] by the Classification Board—the notice does not refer to opinions or political commentary surrounding the RC footage.”
“eSafety was disappointed to see how inconsistently and slowly the major platforms were to place sensitive content labels, or interstitials, on this violative content, in alignment with their own policies.”
The commission said it recognised the importance of “news reporting and public commentary on current events” and that it has “no role in regulating opinion, commentary or political speech.”
“It does have a role in keeping Australians safe online and preventing the accidental, inadvertent or unnecessary exposure to harmful violent imagery of real killings where that footage has been assessed by the Australian Classification Board as being Refused Classification.”
eSafety says it received “multiple complaints” in September about online content regarding three incidents.
These include the knife stabbing death of Ukrainian Zarutska on a light rail train in Charlotte, United States on Aug. 22, the shooting death of U.S. conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, and the beheading of Dallas motel manager Chandramouli Nagamallaiah on Sept. 10.
Other Commentators
Belgian activist Dries Van Langenhove also revealed he had received a notice, as well as influencer Ian Miles Cheong, who regularly posts raw footage of incidents related to China and the Chinese Communist Party.
“The Australian government is forcing X to remove my video footage of Iryna Zarutska’s murder. They’d love to take it down worldwide but neither X nor I are subject to their global censorship policies so it’ll only be withheld from being displayed in Australia,” he said.
The Epoch Times has contacted the X press team for comment.
Online Regulation for Children
If the Australian Classification Board issues a Refused Classification (RC) on content, it means it cannot be accessed in Australia.
“RC content cannot legally be hosted, shared, distributed, sold, or accessed in Australia. Content that is classified RC is content that exceeds what can be included in the R 18+ and X 18+ ratings,” eSafety said.
“In practice, this means material that has been classified RC cannot legally be shared in Australia and is subject to removal notices by the eSafety Commissioner.”
The eSafety commissioner is also tasked with overseeing the impending under-16 social media ban coming into force on Dec. 10, and is also regulating new industry “codes” to ensure children are not accessing inappropriate content related to self-harm or pornography.
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