X Compared Bondi Attack Footage to a ‘Gore Movie’, eSafety Commissioner Reveals

Julie Inman Grant tells the Royal Commission on Antisemitism that authorities fought to prevent the circulation of graphic footage. Extremist content and gaps in Australia’s Online Safety Act also came under scrutiny

di Redazione

 Social media platform X allegedly argued that graphic footage from the Bondi terrorist attack was “no worse than what you would see in a gore movie” and should therefore remain accessible to users over the age of 18.

The claim was revealed by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, during evidence before the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

Inman Grant described a prolonged dispute with the Elon Musk-owned company over footage from the attack, which killed 15 people.

According to the commissioner, X initially challenged the most severe classification applied to the videos and proposed restricting them to adult users rather than removing them entirely.

Under Australia’s online safety framework, content is classified according to severity. Material in the highest category must be removed completely, while content in the second-highest category may be restricted to users aged over 18.

“I could not think of anything more horrific for the family members and the Australian Jewish community,” Inman Grant told the commission.

She said the regulator fought hard to ensure the footage remained classified as prohibited content.

The commissioner also accused major digital platforms of seeking to continue distributing and profiting from extremely violent material.

“These are mainstream platforms that are fighting for the right and the ability to distribute and monetise this content,” she said.

X Challenges Three Removal Notices

Inman Grant said X was challenging three separate removal notices issued by the eSafety Commission.

The disputed material reportedly includes footage of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian student on a train.

In the Kirk case, the platform allegedly considered graphic images showing the fatal injuries to be suitable for adult audiences rather than subject to complete removal.

The eSafety Commissioner said disputes with technology companies were becoming increasingly difficult.

“We have the most powerful technology in the world owned by the richest and wealthiest technologists in the world, but we have never had looser guardrails,” she said.

“To me, that is a recipe for disaster.”

Over the past year, the eSafety Commission reportedly assessed about 180,000 pieces of reported content.

Approximately seven per cent involved terrorist or violent material.

The agency also identified two major spikes in antisemitic content: the first after the October 7 attack and the second following the publication of the personal details of about 600 Jewish artists and creative professionals in February 2024.

Overall, antisemitic material accounted for about one per cent of reports submitted to the regulator.

Gaps in the Online Safety Act

Inman Grant acknowledged significant weaknesses in the current legal framework, particularly in relation to online hate.

She said the Online Safety Act does not include a specific category covering online hate and imposes a very high threshold before harmful material can be classified as removable cyber abuse.

As a result, the regulator is sometimes forced to tell victims that, despite the distress and harm they have experienced, the content does not meet the legal threshold required for intervention.

Inman Grant apologised to people whom the scheme had been unable to protect, while stressing that only the Australian government and parliament have the power to amend the legislation.

Criticism of the Labor Government’s Response

Sarah Schwartz, co-founder of the Jewish Council of Australia, also appeared before the Royal Commission and described the Labor government’s response to the Bondi attack as “incredibly dangerous”.

Schwartz argued that the political debate had focused too heavily on Palestinian and Muslim communities, presenting antisemitism as a problem originating mainly within pro-Palestinian movements.

She said such an approach risked deepening divisions and making dialogue between religious and cultural communities more difficult.

“There has been a lot of discussion, particularly in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, that seeks to locate the source of antisemitism with migrants,” she told the commission.

Schwartz said the Jewish Council of Australia had organised an interfaith vigil after the attack, describing it as an example of solidarity and collective mourning that stood in contrast to parts of the public debate.

Jewish Identity and Criticism of Israel

Schwartz also challenged the assumption that Jewish identity must automatically be linked to political support for the State of Israel or Zionism.

She said many Jewish Australians who are critical of the Israeli government fear speaking publicly in support of Palestinians.

According to Schwartz, Jews who oppose Israeli policies are sometimes accused of not being “truly Jewish”, betraying their community or, in the most extreme cases, siding with antisemitic ideologies.

She also highlighted the difficulties faced by Palestinian and Muslim communities, who are frequently accused of antisemitism before they are able to speak about their own experiences or those of relatives in Gaza.

Schwartz argued that government responses which identify the Palestine solidarity movement as the primary source of antisemitism can marginalise Jewish people who are themselves part of that movement.

Extremist Propaganda and the Risk of Radicalisation

The Australian Federal Police also warned that violent footage can be used by extremist organisations as propaganda.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said footage of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a church service in Wakeley in April 2024 had been shared by extremist groups to encourage similar acts of violence.

The bishop, who was 53 at the time of the attack, suffered serious injuries to his head and permanently lost sight in his right eye.

Nutt said co-operation between the AFP and the eSafety Commissioner had helped remove harmful material before it could be used to radicalise other individuals.

He called for clearer protocols covering the reporting of antisemitic and extremist content.

The AFP also told the commission that the continuing increase in online antisemitism was one of the factors behind the creation of a dedicated federal hate crime team.

While acknowledging the results achieved through co-operation with the eSafety Commission, police said more needed to be done to improve co-ordination, identify emerging threats and obtain timely responses from online platforms.

The post X Compared Bondi Attack Footage to a ‘Gore Movie’, eSafety Commissioner Reveals first appeared on Allora! Italian Australian News.