Elon Musk’s X has faced penalties in Australia due to violations of child protection laws
X Corp has been fined in Australia after acknowledging its failure to meet child safety obligations, following an extended court dispute.
An Australian court has confirmed a fine against Elon Musk’s X Corp following the company’s admission of non-compliance with child protection regulations, concluding a three-year legal dispute regarding online safety enforcement.
The penalty was initially imposed by Australia’s online safety regulator in 2023 after the platform did not sufficiently address a formal request for information regarding the measures it was implementing to combat the exploitation of children online.
The company initially contested the order, asserting that it was not required to comply since the request had been made prior to Twitter’s official transition into X Corp after its restructuring under Elon Musk’s ownership.
On Thursday, X acknowledged their wrongdoing and consented to pay a fine of A$650,000, which is approximately $463,000, following the court’s finalization of the settlement.
Justice Michael Wheelahan emphasized the need for a significant penalty to promote compliance and deter future violations. He remarked, “A penalty near the maximum is appropriate in the case of the respondent, which is a substantial corporation, ensuring it serves as a genuine deterrent rather than merely a cost of doing business.”
The court has mandated that X Corp pay A$100,000 to cover the legal expenses incurred by the regulator.
The ruling came after ongoing confrontations between X and Australia’s eSafety Commissioner regarding content moderation policies, which included disagreements over the nation’s pioneering under-16 social media restrictions and the management of violent content shared on the platform.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant stated, “Meaningful transparency is critical to holding technology companies to account,” in response to the ruling.
The regulator initially issued the transparency notice to Twitter in February 2023, just prior to the platform’s transition into X Corp under Musk’s ownership.
The situation became more intricate due to previous legal debates regarding corporate responsibility after the restructuring; however, a court ruling from last year affirmed that X was still obligated to adhere to the transparency request.
