Bishop attacked in Sydney | X opposes the removal of content related to the attack

(Sydney) The social network

Mar Mari Emmanuel, bishop of an Assyrian church, a branch of Eastern Christians, was stabbed in the head and chest Monday evening during a sermon in a church by a 16-year-old young man. He had forgiven his attacker, in a message published from the hospital.

Australian authorities have expressed concern that video of the attack, which has spread widely on social media, is fueling tensions.

The X platform claims to have complied with an initial directive from eSafety, “pending legal action”, by removing “certain messages in Australia which commented on the recent attack”.

But it said it subsequently received a new request from eSafety demanding that it “broadly withhold messages” and threatening the platform with a daily fine of 785,000 Australian dollars (500,000 US dollars) if it did not comply. this application.

Elon Musk denounced this type of “global content bans” on the social network, assuring that the regulator did not have “the power to dictate the content that X users can see on a global scale”.

“We will vigorously challenge this illegal and dangerous approach in court,” argued the platform, believing that the messages concerned did not violate its own rules on violent expression.

But eSafety stressed on Friday its desire to ensure X’s “full and complete compliance” with Australian law.

“We are currently considering further regulatory action,” the regulator said, saying it was “disappointed that the process has been unnecessarily prolonged rather than prioritizing the safety of Australians.”

Chris Minns, the premier of the Australian state of New South Wales of which Sydney is the capital, criticized the role played by certain platforms in the dissemination of violent images of the attack. “I am shocked but not surprised,” he commented on Saturday about the reaction of the social network X.

“And when things go wrong, they throw up their hands and say they’re not prepared to do anything,” added Mr. Minns, who called for tougher rules governing social media. “We have had enough, Sydney has had enough.”