The simple way Aussies can skirt Elon Musk’s attempt to block violent church stabbing video from X – as bitter brawl with Anthony Albanese’s government plays out in court

Elon Musk’s initial attempts to stop Australians from watching violent video content under government orders were easily thwarted by technology that up to 25 percent of all Australians use: a VPN.

The Albanian government and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant are locked in a bitter standoff with Musk after he failed to comply with an order to remove violent video of an attack on a bishop during his April 15 church service from his X app.

Judge Geoffrey Kennett presided over an interlocutory hearing on Friday, ahead of a full hearing, during which he heard arguments from both sides about the far-reaching implications of the Australian government’s request.

Bret Walker SC, acting on behalf of

“It’s at odds with what you would expect or hope from one national regime,” he said.

Meanwhile, lawyers acting on behalf of the eSafety Commissioner argued that X’s move to geoblock disturbing video footage of the violent crimes (meaning they would not be available to Australian users) was unsatisfactory.

While Meta moved quickly to remove the content from its services entirely, Musk’s

But barrister Tim Begbie KC told the court that staff at the eSafety Commissioner’s office were able to use ‘standard VPNs to access videos that were banned in Australia’.

They did this several times ‘from an adult account, a child’s account and not logged in at all’.

A VPN can mask a user’s IP address and redirect a connection so it appears as if it comes from somewhere else in the world.

Mr Begbie said this proved the measures X was taking to protect Australians from violent content did not go far enough.

“To say there are holes in the geo-blocking system… is a profound understatement,” he said.

“The fact that those actually not very sophisticated ways of accessing it can be done immediately is something that your honor would be concerned about.”

The eSafety Commission obtained a temporary injunction from the Federal Court in April to have the images removed worldwide while the case played out in court.

That order officially expired at 5 p.m. on Friday. However, Judge Kennett extended the order until 5pm on Monday despite ‘imperfections’ to give him time to consider a further ban.

Mr Walker argued on behalf of X that the only way to prevent users in Australia from viewing the content via a VPN would be to effectively remove the footage globally.

“The idea that it is better for the entire world not to see this clearly newsworthy issue… that no one can see it pending a decision after a hearing that has not yet been determined… that idea is surprising,” Mr. Walker said. .

‘That is a very remarkable proposal. This is deeply concerning that this country is taking the following approach: “If this is the only way to control what’s available to users in Australia, then we say it’s a reasonable step… to deny everyone on Earth” .

X faces a daily fine of $785,000 for non-compliance, but Musk has vowed to fight the ruling on two fronts.

Lawyers for

“We believe that no government should possess such authority,” the company said.

Authorities have also expressed concerns that access to such footage could pave the way for copycat attacks.

Six people were fatally stabbed in the Westfield shopping center in Sydney’s east during the incident, which only ended when a brave police officer shot dead attacker Joel Cauchi.

Harrowing images quickly spread across social media platforms – namely X and Facebook – sparking online witch hunts, with an innocent person wrongly named as the perpetrator.

In addition, explicit and violent images ended up on news feeds and ‘For You’ pages around the world, prompting an intervention from the government’s e-Safety Commissioner.

Similarly, footage of a 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a live-streamed sermon at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley went viral, with voice notes and WhatsApp messages fueling the riots.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been highly critical of social media platforms for failing to act quickly enough to protect users from violent content.

“There should be no need for the eSafety Commissioner to intervene to direct companies, in this case X and [Facebook owner] Meta, to remove violent videos showing people who lost their lives as a result of what happened when the perpetrator committed that atrocity on Saturday,” he said.

“Social media makes us all content publishers, we all have a responsibility.”

The Prime Minister warned that he is “prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to bring these companies into line.”

‘We have made that very clear because of the damage that an omission can have.’

Mr Albanese said onlookers who shot the video, and others who later received the footage, should have sent it to police to help with the investigation, rather than posting it online.

The eSafety Commission touts itself as the “first government agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online.”

It is run by Julie Inman Grant, Twitter’s former director of Public Policy, Australia and Southeast Asia, who receives an annual salary of almost $445,000.

According to the latest annual report, almost 500 public servants are employed by the eSafety Commissioner and the Australian Communications and Media Authority.