Elon Musk X Wins Appeal, Australians Can View Charlie Kirk Shooting Footage. The Australian Classification Review Board has overturned a decision that blocked Australians from seeing footage of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk’s shooting on social media, following an appeal by Elon Musk’s platform X.
After Kirk’s death at Utah Valley University on 10 September, the eSafety commissioner requested the video be classified in Australia. The footage was initially “refused classification,” allowing eSafety to require social media platforms to geo-block it for Australian users.
X challenged the ruling for two Kirk videos, as well as a separate refused-classification video showing an attack on Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, North Carolina. X argued that the Kirk video, while showing brief violence, contained no visible weapon, was grainy, and quickly panned away from the victim.
The company maintained the video was not excessively detailed, gratuitous, or offensive, framing it as a neutral record of “a notorious public event of historical and political significance” that sparked wide public discussion. X compared it to the JFK assassination footage.
Elon Musk X Wins Appeal
The majority of the review board agreed that, despite the horrific nature of the shooting, the video was not exploitative or offensive enough to warrant refusal. They reclassified it as R18+, noting that more graphic edits or commentary could potentially cross that threshold.
A minority of board members disagreed, suggesting the video was shared for entertainment or social media engagement, and could not be fairly compared to the Zapruder JFK footage, which emerged 15 years after the assassination when public emotions had eased.
In a statement on X’s global government affairs account, the platform celebrated the ruling:
“X fought this case to uphold free speech and the importance of access to information about matters of public significance. We remain committed to protecting these principles.”
The eSafety commissioner acknowledged the ruling but emphasized that the R18+ rating obliges platforms to prevent under-18 Australians from accessing the content.
Separately, the regulator has not issued any notices regarding footage from the Bondi Beach terror attack circulating on social media, stating that while distressing, it does not meet the threshold for refused classification. Platforms are advised to use sensitive content labels, blurring, or other warnings according to their content policies.
Source: theguardian.com
