Elon Musk’s X has won a Federal Court challenge against Australia’s online safety regulator, with the court ruling the platform cannot be subjected to two separate sets of online safety regulations at the same time.
As per report, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant had argued that X should also be covered by a stricter industry standard because the platform allows users to send messages and use encrypted chat.
However, Justice Elizabeth Raper ruled that the legislation did not allow a service to be classified simultaneously as both a “social media service” and a “relevant electronic service”.
“The X Platform is a ‘social media service’,” Justice Raper said in her judgment.
It is also reported by AAP that the judge found the Commissioner’s interpretation did not fit with the structure of Australia’s online safety legislation and could allow the regulator to create a standard applying to a provider already covered by another industry code.
X had argued that using its messaging functionality as the basis for imposing the additional regulation would be unreasonable.
Justice Raper agreed, warning that treating messaging functionality as sufficient to trigger both regulatory regimes could create “enormous overlap” between the two categories of online services.
X also argued that eSafety had failed to properly consult the company before introducing the additional standard.
The court’s decision represents another legal victory for X in its long-running disputes with the Australian eSafety Commissioner.
A spokeswoman for Inman Grant said eSafety acknowledged the judgment and was considering its next steps.
However, she noted that X had failed in its broader attempt to have the entire “relevant electronic service” standard declared invalid.
The dispute is the latest chapter in the increasingly tense relationship between Musk’s platform and Australia’s online safety regulator.
In 2024, eSafety dropped separate legal proceedings against X over its handling of a graphic video showing the stabbing of a bishop at a Sydney church.
The Federal Court ruling does not prevent eSafety from regulating X under the social media services framework.
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