RM Elon Musk’s X Wins Appeal to Lift Ban on Australians Viewing Charlie Kirk Shooting Footage
The Australian Classification Review Board has overturned a decision to block Australians from viewing footage of the shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. This comes after Elon Musk’s platform X appealed the ruling, which was originally initiated by the eSafety Commissioner.
Following Kirk’s death at Utah Valley University on September 10, the eSafety Commissioner sought to have the video of the shooting classified in Australia. The board initially ruled the video to be “refused classification,” enabling the eSafety Commissioner to issue geo-blocking orders, preventing the footage from being accessible to users based in Australia.
X contested this ruling regarding two videos of the Kirk incident and also appealed the classification of another video, showing an attack on Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August.
X’s appeal was successful. In the case of the Kirk video, the platform argued that the footage contained brief, non-graphic violence, with no visible weapon. The quality of the video was poor, and the camera quickly moved away from Kirk to focus on the surrounding crowd.
The company further argued that the video was not excessively graphic, sensationalized, or offensive. Instead, it presented a neutral, objective recording of an event of significant historical and political relevance, one that sparked considerable public debate. X drew a comparison to the footage of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, which was widely distributed years after the event.
The majority of the review board concurred with X’s argument, stating that although the event was tragic, the video itself was not gratuitous or exploitative enough to warrant a refusal of classification. The board decided that the footage should be rated R18+, noting that a more detailed or edited version could potentially meet the criteria for a “refused classification.”
However, there was a dissenting opinion, with some board members arguing that the video was more likely to be shared for entertainment purposes or personal gain (such as generating likes or views) on social media. They also rejected X’s comparison to the Kennedy assassination footage, pointing out that it had been released more than 15 years after the event when public emotions had cooled.
In a post on X’s global government affairs account, the platform expressed its approval of the decision, stating that it fought the case to protect free speech and ensure public access to important information. “We remain committed to safeguarding these principles,” the platform wrote.
A spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner acknowledged the ruling but noted that the review board’s decision to classify the video as R18+ meant that social media platforms were still required to prevent users under 18 from accessing this material.
The eSafety Commissioner also commented on recent footage of the Bondi Beach terror attack circulating on social media. While the images have been disturbing, the regulator has not issued geo-blocking notices, explaining that the content did not meet the threshold for “refused classification.” Platforms have been advised to use content warnings and blurring effects in accordance with their own policies.
