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Following a notable regulatory appeal, a national review panel has reversed a earlier ruling that prevented viewers in Australia from seeing recorded content of the shooting incident involving influencer Charlie Kirk. The appeal was lodged by Elon Musk's social media platform, which contested an order sought by the national eSafety commissioner.

Details of the Original Ban

After the death of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in last year, the regulator petitioned the review board to officially classify the circulating video. It first determined the content was "unable to be classified", a rating that empowered the commissioner to order platforms to geo-block the videos for an Australian audience.

Elon Musk's company challenged the decision for a pair of videos related to the Kirk incident. Additionally, it contested a comparable ban on another piece of footage—showing the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina train—which had likewise been classified as "refused classification".

Arguments Presented and Board's Decision

Arguing its case, X asserted that the footage in question contained only a short moment of violence with the weapon not shown. The company noted the recording was low-quality and the focus shifted rapidly from the victim to the surrounding crowd.

X argued the video was not excessively detailed, exploitative, or objectionable, adding that it served as a factual documentation of "a notorious public event of public importance that generated widespread discussion". The platform even compared the footage and the well-known recording of the JFK shooting.

The majority of the review board concluded that, "notwithstanding the heinous nature of the event," the content did not reach a level that was gratuitous, exploitative or offensive enough to justify a complete ban. The board suggested that a more detailed depiction with different editing could have met that threshold. Consequently, the board changed the rating of the videos to R18+.

The Minority Viewpoint

Some on the panel disagreed, contending the post was "a shareable video for the probable aim of entertainment and/or benefit (such as likes, shares, or views)". They also argued the parallel with the Zapruder JFK film was invalid, as the Kennedy video was released long after the assassination, "after public sentiment around the matter had calmed".

Response Following the Decision

Posting on its global government affairs account, X welcomed the decision.

"We challenged this case to defend free speech and the critical nature of access to information about issues of public interest. We remain dedicated to safeguarding these principles."

Representatives for the safety regulator acknowledged the ruling, but noted that the new R18+ rating now implies platforms "must take steps to prevent R18+ material is not accessible to users who are minors".

Recent Developments on Violent Content

Separately, the regulator did not issue take-down orders to platforms this week regarding disturbing videos from the Sydney beach incident circulating on social media. The regulator stated that while the images were upsetting, they had not met the high threshold for a "total ban" rating.

Instead, the companies have been advised to use warning labels and screens, such as blurring, on such content in line with their existing community guidelines.