Twitter, X, rebrand, Elon Musk
Global tech

Elon Musk’s microblogging site tried to avoid a $610,500 Australian government fine because its name changed – but lost in court

- October 9, 2024 3 MIN READ

X’s attempt to have a $600,000 fine thrown out as it was issued to its previous company name has been rejected by an Australian court, in a significant legal win for the eSafety Commissioner. Federal Court of Australia Justice Michael Wheelahan ruled on Friday that X could not wriggle out of an Australian government infringement… Read more »

Twitter HQ in San Francisco.
Social Media

X, which is owned by a bloke who wants $85bn for building cars, is threatening to sue former Australian Twitter employees because it overpaid them when they were sacked

- June 12, 2024 3 MIN READ

The social media platform formerly known as Twitter is chasing former Australian employees for money and threatening to take them to court after mistakenly overpaying them when they were fired in 2022. Twitter, now called X by its mercurial owner, Elon Musk, who was forced to buy the platform for $61 billion in mid-2022, went… Read more »

Twitter, X, rebrand, Elon Musk
Social Media

Elon Musk’s X needs to comply with local law when it comes to hate speech, a Queensland tribunal says

- May 29, 2024 3 MIN READ

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) is liable for hate speech posted on its platform and is subject to local Australian law despite being based in the US, a Queensland Tribunal has found, in a judgement that potentially sets a significant precedent. The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) ruled last week that X is subject… Read more »

Politics

Elon Musk 1, eSafety Commissioner 0, in legal battle over priest stabbing video removal on X

- May 14, 2024 2 MIN READ

Elon Musk has won the latest round in his Federal Court fight with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner over demands that his social media company X (aka Twitter) remove footage of a bishop being stabbed in Sydney last month. The decision by Justice Geoffrey Kennett limits the powers of  Commissioner Julie Inman Grant and the country’s Online… Read more »

Politics

Backing Australia on global content take-down orders only works if you believe China, Russia and Iran have the same rights

- April 24, 2024 3 MIN READ

Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask themselves whether they are equally happy for courts in China, Russia and Iran to determine what Australians can see and post online in Australia.… Read more »

Social Media

The misinformation on X about the Bondi Junction attack shows how far Twitter has fallen

- April 17, 2024 3 MIN READ

Demonstrably false claims and misinformation have been prominently featured on X, including by Verified users, following the Bondi Junction attack, as the social media platform again fails to grapple with a major breaking news story. Twitter was once the go-to platform for real-time, breaking news stories, often led by journalists boasting verified blue ticks. But… Read more »

Twitter, X, rebrand, Elon Musk
Social Media

Australia’s eSafety commissioner launches legal action against Elon Musk’s X Corp

- December 21, 2023 2 MIN READ

Australia’s online safety regulator, the eSafety Commission, has launched legal action against the Elon Musk’s rebranded Twitter company, X Corp, for its alleged failure to comply appropriately to requests to explain how the social media site was dealing with child sexual exploitation and abuse material. The civil case in the Federal Court of Victoria follows… Read more »

Twitter, X, rebrand, Elon Musk
Social Media

Elon Musk’s rebranded Twitter has been fined $610,000 by Australian authorities for failing to respond to concerns about child sex abuse material

- October 18, 2023 4 MIN READ

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Grant, has found X (formerly Twitter) guilty of serious non-compliance to a transparency notice on child sex abuse material. The commissioner has issued X with an infringement notice for A$610,500. The commissioner first issued transparency notices to Google, X (then Twitter), Twitch, TikTok and Discord in February under the Online Safety… Read more »

Meditation, beach
Social Media

Why you should meditate if you’re still using Twitter

- September 18, 2023 2 MIN READ

While owner Elon Musk denies X, his rebranded Twitter, is an even bigger cesspit of abuse, racism, and unfettered nastiness than it already was, perhaps one way to improve things is meditation, according to Kiwi academics. Researchers from University of Auckland (UaA) trawled through more than 60,000 Twitter posts by users who’d completed a two-month… Read more »

Furopean wildcat holding dead bird
Social Media

Why Elon Musk’s plan to get rid of the block function on the former Twitter could be its coup de grace

- August 23, 2023 3 MIN READ

On Saturday, X (formerly Twitter) chairman Elon Musk tweeted he would be removing the microblogging platform’s block function. It would remain intact for direct messages, but would otherwise become obsolete. This is the latest in a series of controversial and often confusing moves from Musk since he took ownership of the platform in October 2022.… Read more »