The Squiz 

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has come out of his court battle with our eSafety Commission victorious, after Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant said she was dropping the case against his social media company X yesterday. The Federal Court proceedings have been bubbling along for months, so you might recall it’s to do with the removal of videos of the Wakeley terror attack at a church in Sydney’s south-western suburbs in April. Inman-Grant wanted them removed from the social platform globally, but Musk refused, getting into a verbal sparring match with Aussie leaders and leading to the court case, which suffered a series of setbacks on the eSafety Commission’s side… Yesterday, when the announcement was made, Musk posted “​​freedom of speech is worth fighting for”.

So that’s it, then…?

Not quite. Inman-Grant was scathing of Musk yesterday, saying other social platforms complied with her takedown order and that his taunting of the commission was “beyond the pale, but not surprising”. She stood by the order and said the goal was to prevent “extremely violent footage from going viral, potentially inciting further violence and inflicting more harm”. The commission will now focus on an independent review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. On a personal note, Inman-Grant also revealed that after Musk “issued a dog-whistle” to X’s 181 million users, she’d been targeted with death threats, which led to the doxxing – aka the malicious publishing of personal details – of her family and 3 children. Michael Miller, the boss of News Corp Australia, also criticised X and other social media companies yesterday – he said they’re “monetising misery” by profiting from violent content.

Anything else?

Sure is… In a separate set of proceedings yesterday, NSW Supreme Court Judge Deborah Sweeney granted bail to a 15yo boy who was arrested for his links to the teen who carried out the Wakeley terror attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on 15 April. The boy was one of 6 arrested in counterterrorism raids across Sydney after the attack, with police saying he was part of a chat group on the encrypted messaging app Signal where the teens allegedly conspired to plan a terrorist act. But Judge Sweeney found the case against him wasn’t strong enough, saying “he talks in concerning ways, but … the [police] facts statement seems a bit thin”. He’s been given strict bail conditions – including house arrest and a ban on using mobile phones, smart devices and internet devices – while the court heard he should also be treated for his “mental health and self-esteem issues”.