Elon Musk's X loses lawsuit in Australia over child protection compliance

An Australian court upheld a penalty against X after it admitted delaying information sought on child safety measures. The ruling closes a nearly three-year dispute and reinforces the regulator's authority over platform compliance.

In Short

• X admitted breaching Australia’s Online Safety Act during the Federal Court hearing
• The platform stayed non-compliant for over a month beyond the deadline
• Regulators sent about 25 questions on child protection and moderation systems

An Australian court has upheld a financial penalty against Elon Musk-owned X Corp after the company admitted it failed to provide regulators with timely information about its measures to combat online child exploitation, bringing an end to a legal dispute that had stretched on for nearly three years.

The case stemmed from action taken by Australia’s eSafety commissioner, which had accused the Elon Musk-owned platform of failing to adequately respond to official questions regarding its child protection systems and moderation processes.

During a hearing in the Federal Court on Thursday, lawyers representing X acknowledged the company had breached provisions under Australia’s Online Safety Act by delaying its response to the regulator’s information request.

The court heard that the company remained non-compliant for more than a month after the deadline, prompting authorities to impose a penalty in 2023.

The dispute began shortly after Musk acquired Twitter — later rebranded as X — in a $44 billion takeover in 2022. Australian regulators had sent the platform a detailed questionnaire containing around 25 questions focused on anti-child exploitation procedures and online safety safeguards.

Authorities later concluded that the company’s response was incomplete and insufficient, leading to a fine of more than A$610,000.

X initially challenged the penalty, arguing that the company’s corporate restructuring and name change following Musk’s takeover complicated the enforcement process. However, the regulator later launched separate proceedings to recover the amount.

On Thursday, the Federal Court increased the total amount payable to roughly A$650,000 and also ordered the company to contribute an additional A$100,000 toward the regulator’s legal expenses.

Lawyers representing X described the dispute as relating primarily to delays in information-sharing during a period of major internal transition at the company following the takeover and restructuring process.

The eSafety Commissioner’s office acknowledged there was no evidence of direct harm resulting from the delay but argued that failure to cooperate with regulatory requests undermined the ability of authorities to enforce online safety laws effectively.

The ruling marks another regulatory setback for Elon Musk, whose relationship with Australia’s online safety regulator has frequently been tense, particularly over issues involving content moderation and platform accountability.

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With inputs from Reuters