Australian court upholds Musk's X order to pay fine stemming from child abuse investigation

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — A court in Australia on Friday upheld an order against Elon Musk's .

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Musk took X, which was then called Twitter, private in 2022. The company had argued that it was not required to respond to the notice in early 2023 because it was folded into a new corporate entity controlled by Musk, eliminating liability.

“Would be the argument from after the verdict.

eSafety has also initiated civil proceedings against X for non-compliance.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

This is not the first conflict between Musk and the Australian Internet Security Regulator. The eSafety commissioner earlier this year ordered X to remove posts showing a bishop in Australia being stabbed during a sermon.

X challenged the order in court on the grounds that a regulator in one country should not decide what internet users around the world see, and ultimately upheld the posts after the Australian regulator withdrew its case.

Musk said at the time that the order was censorship and shared posts describing how the order, which would have applied worldwide, was a conspiracy by the World Economic Forum to impose eSafety rules on the world.