Elon Musk's X can be liable for hate speech published on platform

A Queensland tribunal has ruled that X must answer to the state's anti-discrimination laws, despite being based in America.

Transcript

00:00 It is a significant decision. It shows us that social media companies are subject to

00:07 Australian hate speech laws. For many years they've been arguing that they're not. There's

00:12 been a lot of uncertainty and now we have some certainty.

00:16 This decision has said that even though X is based in the United States, it does conduct

00:21 business in Queensland and therefore the business that it conducts in Queensland is subject

00:27 to Queensland law.

00:29 Rita Jabri-Markwell is representing the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network in its ongoing anti-discrimination

00:35 complaint against X. That relates to posts published in the aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch

00:43 mosque attacks in which 51 people were killed.

00:47 The ramifications are that up until this point it's just been doing whatever it likes. It

00:52 will govern hate speech on its platform at its own discretion. Now it knows that it could

00:57 be held liable for hate speech under Australian laws, particularly in Queensland.

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