An Australian federal judge fines X Corp 650,000 Australian dollars (about $465,000) for breaching Australia’s Online Safety Act after the company failed to provide required information to the eSafety Commissioner. The dispute follows a three-year court battle in which X argued it was not obliged to answer questions posed by eSafety.
The penalty stems from a 2023 transparency notice issued by eSafety on Feb. 22, 2023, relating to how X tackled child sexual exploitation content. Court records and outlet reports say X did not submit a report that fully answered the watchdog’s questions by the deadline of March 29, 2023. X later admitted it contravened the Online Safety Act by not providing the required information.
Federal Court Justice Michael Wheelahan also ordered X to pay 100,000 Australian dollars toward the eSafety Commissioner’s court costs within 45 days, according to reports. The ruling is presented as ending the legal challenge over whether X had to respond to eSafety’s requests and how the company addressed the notice.
