🗞️Albanese Criticizes Musk: Arrogant Billionaire or Free Speech Advocate?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Elon Musk a “arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above the law”. The PM was asked by ABC News Breakfast how far the government would go with Musk on the takedown of content from last week's Sydney church stabbing. Albanese said:

We'll do what's necessary to take on this arrogant billionaire who thinks he's above the law, but also above common decency. 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. Social media needs to have social responsibility with it. Mr Musk is not showing any.

In different interview with Peter Stefanovic in Skynews First Edition , The PM said:

Well, this is a bloke who's chosen ego and showing violence over common sense. I think that Australians will shake their head when they think that this billionaire is prepared to go to court fighting for the right to sow division and to show violent videos which are very distressing. He is in social media, but he has a social responsibility in order to have that social licence. And what has occurred here is that the eSafety Commissioner has made very sensible suggestions. Other social media companies have complied without complaint. But this bloke thinks he's above the Australian law, that he's above common decency. And I tell you what, I say to Elon Musk, that he is so out of touch with what the Australian public want. This has been a distressing time. And I find this bloke on the other side of the world, from his billionaires establishments, trying to lecture Australians about free speech, well, I won't cop it and Australians won't either.

What happens if the vision in question isn't removed, the prime minister was asked?

Well, of course there is a court order that has been put in place. It's a sensible proposition. No one is above the law. Not Elon Musk, not any Australian citizen when it comes to operating here in Australia. He has a business that gives him a lot of profit. And I just find it extraordinary that this bloke thinks he's above the law and above common decency. This shouldn't be a matter of the law. It should be a matter of people doing the right thing.

Well, I think our position is very clear. And Mr Musk has made his position clear. This bloke thinks he's above everyone. Well, that's not the way that Australia operates. And we have sent a clear message across the board. Politicians in Australia, across the political spectrum, are backing the eSafety Commissioner, and they're backing the eSafety Commissioner because she's acting in the interests of common sense and in the interest of common decency.

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In response to the Australian internet watchdog's attempts to compel Elon Musk's social media platform X to prevent users from viewing graphic video related to the Sydney church stabbing, Musk has taken offence. The billionaire American shared a cartoon on his personal X account that depicted the platform as a path to "freedom" and "truth" akin to that of the Wizard of Oz, with a darker, alternate path leading to "censorship" and "propaganda."Musk has written the words, "Don't take my word for it, just ask the Australian PM," above the cartoon.

After the eSafety commissioner filed an urgent court case on Monday evening seeking an injunction, the Australian federal court ordered Elon Musk's X to hide posts containing videos of a Sydney church stabbing last week from users worldwide. On Tuesday last week, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant ordered X and Meta to remove “gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail” within 24 hours or face fines. The footage showed bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed last Monday night during a livestreamed service at Wakeley's Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church.Barrister for eSafety Christopher Tran told Justice Geoffrey Kennett late on Monday afternoon that X had geo-blocked the video posts, preventing Australians from viewing them. International visitors and Australians using a VPN to hide their IP address could still access the posts.

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