"Elon Musk is an Arrogant Billionaire"…Why Did the Australian Prime Minister Fiercely Criticize Him?

Australian Stabbing Rampage Video Continues to Spread on SNS
Musk Refuses to Remove Video Despite Deletion Requests

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese publicly criticized Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), calling him "arrogant." This came after a video of a stabbing attack at a church in Sydney, Australia, spread on X, but Musk refused to comply with the Australian government's order to remove the video.

On the 23rd (local time), Australian news agency AAP reported that the eSafety Commissioner, Australia's top digital crime response agency, ordered X to block and delete the video of the stabbing incident at a church in Sydney. Access to the video was soon blocked within Australia, but X did not delete the video from its servers. As a result, the video remains accessible outside Australia and can still be accessed within Australia via virtual private networks (VPNs).

Elon Musk. [Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

The Australian government demanded the complete removal of the video, but X stated that the Australian government does not have the authority to enforce such a demand on users worldwide. Furthermore, X rejected the request, claiming it threatens the principles of internet openness and freedom of the press, and announced it would challenge the blocking order in the Australian Federal Court.

However, Musk argued, "The content is stored only on servers in the United States," and questioned, "Does the Australian eSafety Commissioner have authority over every country on Earth?" His logic was that while access can be blocked within Australia, there is no authority to delete videos stored on U.S. servers. Musk also emphasized, "If one country can sanction content from another country as Australia demands, how can we prevent a single nation from controlling the entire internet?"

A stabbing attack recently occurred at a church in Sydney, Australia, and the footage is spreading on social media.
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

On the other hand, Prime Minister Albanese appeared on Australia's Sky News and explained that the commissioner's decision was very reasonable and that other social media platforms had accepted similar requests. He then criticized Musk's idea of going to court to defend the right to post violent content on platforms as being out of touch with reality. He added, "Social media platforms should bear social responsibility, but Musk shows no such attitude. We will take necessary measures against this arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law and common sense."

Earlier, at around 7 p.m. on the 15th, a 16-year-old boy dressed in black appeared at an Assyrian Eastern Church in southwestern Sydney wielding a weapon and attacked the bishop who was conducting mass. The priest and congregants who tried to intervene were also attacked. Since the mass was being live-streamed online, the stabbing incident was broadcast live as well.