According to a Reuters report, the fine upheld by the Federal Court of Australia on Elon Musk’s social media platform X stems from X’s failure to comply with a request from the country’s e-safety commissioner seeking the information. That’s how the platform addresses child sexual abuse content.

The X challenged the fine, arguing that due to corporate reorganization in 2022 – when Twitter was made private and the new unit of Musk was merged with X Corp – it is now regulatory demands made before the infection Was not obliged to answer. However, the court rejected this argument, noting that such a precedent could have worrying implications for regulatory oversight of foreign companies operating in Australia. Reportedly, the eSafety Commissioner said that accepting X’s position could have opened the way for companies to avoid their legal responsibilities after a merger or acquisition.

The fine is part of an ongoing standoff between Musk’s platform and Australia’s eSafety Office, which monitors online content. X has faced additional scrutiny, with civil proceedings initiated against the platform for non-compliance with various regulatory requests. Australian authorities have stressed the importance of holding companies accountable, especially when it comes to protecting users from harmful content such as child sexual abuse.

This is not the first time Ax has clashed with the Australian government. Earlier in 2023, the eSafety Commissioner had ordered X to remove content depicting a bishop being stabbed during a sermon in Australia. According to another Reuters report, the platforms objected, leading to a legal challenge over the global impact of such orders. Ax argued that regulators in any one country should not have the power to dictate what content is visible around the world. Although the Australian regulator eventually dropped its case, Musk remained defiant, criticizing the order as censorship and even labeling it a World Economic Forum-led plan to impose controls on online content.

Adding fuel to the fire, Musk recently called the Australian government “fascist” after it introduced new legislation aimed at curbing misinformation. The proposed legislation, revealed three weeks ago, would give regulators the power to fine social media companies up to 5 percent of their global revenue if they failed to tackle misinformation on their platforms. Under the proposal, tech companies would be required to establish and enforce codes of conduct to prevent the spread of harmful falsehoods. If they fail to meet these standards, the Australian government regulator will have the power to impose its own rules and impose fines for non-compliance.