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In a significant legal reversal, the Australian classification review board has overturned a earlier ruling that prevented viewers in Australia from seeing video footage of the shooting incident involving influencer Charlie Kirk. This challenge was lodged by Elon Musk's company X, arguing against an directive sought by the online safety regulator.

Details of the Original Ban

Following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in last year, the regulator petitioned the review board to assess and rate the available footage. It initially ruled the content was "unable to be classified", a rating that empowered the regulator to instruct platforms to geo-block the posts for an Australian audience.

The platform X filed an appeal for a pair of videos related to the Kirk incident. It also appealed a similar ruling on another piece of footage—showing the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte—which had likewise been deemed "unacceptable for distribution".

The Platform's Case and Final Ruling

Arguing its case, X contended that the footage in question contained only brief violence with the weapon not shown. The company noted the recording was low-quality and the camera quickly panned away from the individual to the bystanders.

X argued the video was not excessively detailed, exploitative, or objectionable, adding that it served as a neutral objective record of "a significant incident of public importance that generated extensive public discourse". X even compared the video and the historic film of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Most members of the review board ultimately agreed that, "despite the terrible nature of the event," the content did not reach a level that was gratuitous, exploitative or offensive enough to warrant a 'refused classification' rating. The board suggested that a more detailed depiction with different editing might have met that threshold. As a result, the board changed the classification of the videos to R18+.

A Dissenting Opinion

A minority on the board held a contrary view, contending the video was "a shareable video for the probable aim of amusement and/or personal gain (such as likes, shares, or views)". This view stated the comparison to the JFK assassination tape was invalid, as the Kennedy video was made public years after the assassination, "after public sentiment regarding it had subsided".

Reactions to the Outcome

In a statement on its official policy channel, the platform expressed approval of the decision.

"We challenged this case to uphold freedom of expression and the importance of public access about matters of public significance. Our commitment remains dedicated to safeguarding these fundamental values."

A spokesperson for the eSafety commissioner also welcomed the board's decision, but noted that the new R18+ rating now implies platforms "must take steps to ensure R18+ material being displayed to Australians who are minors".

Recent Developments on Violent Content

Separately, the eSafety commissioner did not issue take-down orders to platforms this week regarding disturbing videos from the recent Bondi beach terror attack circulating on social media. Officials commented that while the content were upsetting, they did not reach the high threshold for a "total ban" rating.

As an alternative, platforms have been instructed to apply warning labels and screens, such as blurring, on such content in line with their own content policies.