Australian Judge Extends Ban on Sharing Video of Sydney Bishop’s Stabbing

An Australian judge has extended a ban on social media platform X from allowing videos of the stabbing of a Sydney bishop in his church last month. The attack, which occurred during an Assyrian Orthodox service streamed online, led to terrorism-related charges for the alleged teenage attacker and sparked a riot outside the church.

Australian Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett ruled in favor of extending the ban, which has been in place since April 22. The decision on whether to continue the ban will be made on Monday.

X, the company rebranded by billionaire Elon Musk, has been the only social media platform fighting against a notice from Australia’s eSafety Commission to take down the graphic video of the attack. Musk has accused Australia of censorship and has applied to the Federal Court to overturn the eSafety notice.

The eSafety Commission argues that despite X geoblocking Australian users from the content, the video can still be accessed through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). They are pushing for a worldwide ban on the video, describing X as a “market leader in proliferating and distributing violent content and violent and extremist material.”

X’s lawyer, Bret Walker, defended the company’s actions, stating that they had taken reasonable steps to block the content from Australia but acknowledged there had been glitches. The court will sit on Wednesday to consider setting a hearing date for X’s application to overturn the eSafety notice.