Whether graphic content should remain on social media has become the subject of heated debate in the aftermath of a stabbing at a Sydney church that police declared a terrorist act.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, removed video of the April 19 incident after an order from the commissioner.
But X, formerly Twitter, has fought the edict in court after it complied with the order by geoblocking the content for Australians pending its legal challenge.
Platforms are expected to comply with the eSafety commissioner's orders, Michelle Rowland says. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
The online safety watchdog said geoblocking, rather than a blanket take-down, did not go far enough to comply with its direction.
X, owned by billionaire owner Elon Musk, argued the order to take down posts globally was illegal as the Australian agency could not dictate what overseas users could see and went against free speech principles.
Communication Minister Michelle Rowland would not comment on jurisdiction while the case was before the court but said the commissioner had "exercised their powers in accordance with a law passed by our parliament".
"The expectation is that platforms will comply," she told ABC radio on Wednesday.
But at least one video of a boy repeatedly stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a sermon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church was still easily accessible on Facebook on Wednesday.
Ms Rowland encouraged people to report such videos rather than forward them.
Authorities declared the stabbing at Christ the Good Shepherd Church a terrorist act. (AP PHOTO)
"There will never be a time when every piece of content is capable of being reported or police but what we can do as governments and as regulators is ensure that we operate responsibly and collectively to keep people safe," she said.
"We don't want vulnerable people to be seeing content that may, for example, lead to their radicalisation, we don't want child sexual abuse or child sexual exploitation material proliferating on the internet."
Mr Musk's defiance of the Australian order has fired up politicians including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called him arrogant and out of touch.
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie, who branded the billionaire a "social media knob", deleted her X account in protest on Tuesday.
Mr Musk retorted the senator was "an enemy of the people" in a post on X
The eSafety commissioner clarified that the removal notice did not relate to commentary, public debate or other posts about the event, "even those which may link to extreme violent content".
The Australian people want the truth.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) � is the only one standing up for their rights. https://t.co/6ZwzNejKLqApril 23, 2024
"It only concerns the video of the violent stabbing attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel," it said.
Liberal senator Jane Hume said she would maintain her account as politicians needed it to communicate with the community.
"That said, the day that I retire, I will be removing myself from X, I find it a horrible place to be but unfortunately, it's important for the job that we do," she told Seven's Sunrise program.
The take-down order targeting the stabbing video was different from other graphic content circulating due to the April 15 attack being declared a terrorist act, Ms Rowland said, when questioned on consistency.
Class one material includes content that depicts real violence that has a high degree of impact in a gratuitous manner and was likely to cause offence.
"In this case, the very high degree of impact is reached by virtue of the terrorism designation that has been given to this particular event," Ms Rowland said.
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