An Australian judge has fined X Corp. 650,000 Australian dollars ($465,000) for failing to provide information to an online safety watchdog about how it tackled child sexual exploitation content, ending a three-year legal battle.
Court Ruling and Costs
Federal Court Justice Michael Wheelahan also ordered the Texas-based social media giant to pay AU$100,000 ($71,000) of eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s court costs within 45 days. The ruling concludes a protracted legal dispute in which X had argued it was not obliged to answer the eSafety Commissioner’s questions.
Admission of Contravention
X admitted it contravened Australia’s Online Safety Act by failing to provide a report that fully answered questions posed by eSafety in a transparency notice issued on February 22, 2023. The agency’s lawyer, Christopher Tran, confirmed that X was required to provide the answers by March 29 of that year.
X’s lawyer, Perry Herzfeld, told the judge that eSafety did not allege the contravening conduct continued after May 5, 2023. He described the period as one of change and transition for the company, referencing Elon Musk’s takeover. eSafety had sent the notice to Twitter Inc., which merged with X in March 2023.
Appropriateness of the Fine
Tran said both X and eSafety agreed the fine was appropriate. “It’s appropriate because X Corp. is obviously a large company and a large figure is needed to ensure that a contravention is not treated as a cost of doing business,” he stated.
In July last year, the full Federal Court ruled that X was required to respond to eSafety’s transparency notice, upholding a judge’s decision from October 2024.
eSafety Commissioner’s Statement
Inman Grant, a former Twitter employee, emphasized that meaningful transparency is critical to holding technology companies accountable. “In early 2023, we asked some of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Twitter, to report on steps they were taking to comply with the Australian Basic Online Safety Expectations in relation to the proliferation of child sexual exploitation and abuse materials on their platforms,” she said in a statement.
“This is not only a key part of our work as Australia’s online safety regulator, it also provides the Australian public with important information about how these companies are tackling the worst-of-the-worst content on their platforms,” she added.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
