🔗 Share this article The Platform X Secures Appeal to Restore Access for Australians to Controversial Video Content In a notable legal reversal, the Australian classification review board has overturned a earlier ruling that blocked Australian-based users from seeing recorded content of the shooting incident involving influencer Charlie Kirk. This challenge was initiated by Elon Musk's company X, arguing against an order issued at the request of the online safety regulator. Background on the Case and Classification Ruling Following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in September, the eSafety commissioner applied to the review board to assess and rate the available footage. It initially ruled the content was "refused classification", a rating that empowered the commissioner to order platforms to restrict access to the posts for users in Australia. The platform X challenged the decision for two separate videos related to the Kirk incident. It also appealed a comparable ban on another piece of footage—depicting the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte—which had likewise been classified as "unacceptable for distribution". The Platform's Case and Final Ruling Arguing its case, X contended that the Kirk video contained only a short moment of violence with no visible weapon. It was argued the recording was low-quality and the camera quickly panned away from the victim to the surrounding crowd. The social media giant argued the video was not overly graphic, gratuitous, or offensive, adding that it served as a neutral objective record of "a notorious public event of historical and political significance that prompted extensive public discourse". X even compared the video and the well-known recording of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Most members of the classification panel ultimately agreed that, "despite the terrible nature of the event," the video did not reach a level that was gratuitous, exploitative or offensive enough to warrant a 'refused classification' rating. However, they noted that a more detailed depiction with alternative commentary could have resulted in a different ruling. As a result, the board changed the classification of the videos to R18+. A Dissenting Opinion Some on the board held a contrary view, contending the post was "a shareable video for the likely purposes of entertainment and/or personal gain (such as engagement metrics)". This view stated the comparison to the Zapruder JFK film was invalid, as the Kennedy video was made public long after the event, "once emotions regarding it had calmed". Response Following the Outcome In a statement on its official policy channel, the platform welcomed the decision. "X fought this decision to defend free speech and the critical nature of access to information about issues of public interest. Our commitment remains committed to protecting these principles." Representatives for the safety regulator acknowledged the ruling, but noted that the revised classification now implies platforms "must take steps to prevent R18+ material being displayed to Australians under 18". Recent Developments on Sensitive Footage Separately, the regulator has not issued take-down orders to social media companies this week regarding graphic footage from the recent Bondi beach terror attack circulating on social media. The regulator stated that while the images were upsetting, they had not met the high threshold for a "total ban" rating. As an alternative, the companies have been advised to apply warning labels and screens, such as obscuring the image, on this material in line with their existing community guidelines.