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Following a significant legal reversal, a national review panel has overturned a prior decision that prevented Australian-based users from seeing recorded content of the shooting incident involving conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. The appeal was lodged by Elon Musk's social media platform, which contested an order sought by the national eSafety commissioner.

Background on the Case and Ban

Following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in September, the regulator petitioned the classification board to officially classify the circulating video. It initially ruled the content was "unable to be classified", a designation that empowered the commissioner to order platforms to geo-block the videos for an Australian audience.

The platform X challenged the decision for a pair of videos depicting the Kirk incident. Additionally, it contested a comparable ban on another piece of footage—depicting the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte—which had likewise been deemed "refused classification".

Arguments Presented and Final Ruling

In its appeal, X asserted that the Kirk video contained only a short moment of violence with the weapon not shown. The company noted the recording was low-quality and the camera quickly panned away from the victim to the bystanders.

X maintained the footage was not excessively detailed, gratuitous, or objectionable, stating it served as a neutral objective record of "a notorious public event of public importance that prompted extensive public discourse". X even compared the footage and the well-known recording of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The majority of the classification panel concluded that, "despite the terrible nature of the event," the video did not reach a level that was gratuitous, exploitative or offensive enough to warrant a 'refused classification' rating. However, they noted that a longer or clearer version with alternative commentary could have resulted in a different ruling. Consequently, the board changed the rating of the content to R18+.

The Minority Viewpoint

A minority on the panel held a contrary view, arguing the video was "content designed for sharing for the likely purposes of entertainment and/or personal gain (such as likes, shares, or views)". They also argued the parallel with the JFK assassination tape was flawed, as the Kennedy video was made public long after the assassination, "after public sentiment around the matter had subsided".

Response Following the Decision

In a statement on its global government affairs account, X expressed approval of the ruling.

"We challenged this decision to defend freedom of expression and the critical nature of public access about issues of public interest. Our commitment remains committed to safeguarding these fundamental values."

Representatives for the safety regulator also welcomed the ruling, but noted that the revised classification now implies platforms "must take steps to ensure R18+ material is not accessible to Australians who are minors".

Broader Context on Violent Content

In related news, the regulator did not issue take-down orders to social media companies this week regarding disturbing videos from the Sydney beach incident shared across social media. Officials commented that while the content were distressing, they did not reach the required standard for a "refused classification" rating.

Instead, platforms have been advised to use sensitive content labels and interstitials, such as obscuring the image, on this material in accordance with their own content policies.