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Following a significant regulatory appeal, the Australian classification review board has reversed a earlier ruling that prevented Australian-based users from accessing video footage 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 online safety regulator.

Background on the Case and Classification Ruling

After the death of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in last year, the regulator applied to the review board to assess and rate the available footage. It initially ruled the content was "unable to be classified", a designation that empowered the regulator to order platforms to geo-block the posts for users in Australia.

Elon Musk's company challenged the decision for a pair of videos depicting the Kirk incident. Additionally, it contested a similar ruling on another piece of footage—depicting the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina train—which had also been deemed "refused classification".

Arguments Presented and Board's Decision

Arguing its case, 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 focus shifted rapidly from the individual to the surrounding crowd.

X argued the video was not excessively detailed, gratuitous, or offensive, adding that it served as a factual documentation of "a notorious public event of historical and political significance that generated extensive public discourse". The platform drew a parallel between the footage and the historic film of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The majority of the review board concluded that, "despite the terrible nature of the event," the video 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 panel revised the rating of the content to R18+.

The Minority Opinion

Some on the board held a contrary view, contending the video was "content designed for sharing for the probable aim of entertainment and/or benefit (such as likes, shares, or views)". This view stated the parallel with the JFK assassination tape was flawed, as the Kennedy video was released long after the assassination, "after public sentiment around the matter had subsided".

Response Following the Decision

Posting on its global government affairs account, the platform expressed approval of the decision.

"X fought this decision to uphold freedom of expression and the critical nature of public access about issues of public interest. We remain committed to protecting these principles."

A spokesperson for the eSafety commissioner acknowledged the board's decision, but noted that the revised classification now implies platforms "must take steps to ensure R18+ material is not accessible to users under 18".

Recent Developments on Violent Content

Separately, the regulator did not issue formal notices to platforms this week regarding disturbing videos from the Sydney beach incident circulating on social media. The regulator stated that while the content were upsetting, they had not met the required standard for a "refused classification" rating.

As an alternative, the companies have been instructed to use sensitive content labels and interstitials, such as blurring, on such content in accordance with their own content policies.