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Following a notable regulatory appeal, the Australian classification review board has reversed a earlier ruling that prevented viewers in Australia from accessing video footage of the violent event involving influencer Charlie Kirk. This challenge was lodged by Elon Musk's company X, which contested an order sought by the national eSafety commissioner.

Background on the Case and Ban

Following the death of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in last year, the regulator applied to the review board to assess and rate the circulating video. It first determined the content was "unable to be classified", a designation that allowed the regulator to order platforms to geo-block the posts for an Australian audience.

The platform X challenged the decision for a pair of videos depicting the Kirk incident. Additionally, it contested a comparable ban on another piece of footage—showing the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina train—which had also been deemed "unacceptable for distribution".

The Platform's Case and Board's Decision

Arguing its case, X contended that the Kirk video contained only brief violence with the weapon not shown. It was argued the recording was low-quality and the camera quickly panned away from the victim to the surrounding crowd.

X argued the video was not excessively detailed, gratuitous, or objectionable, stating it served as a factual documentation of "a significant incident of public importance that prompted extensive public discourse". X even compared the footage and the well-known recording of the JFK shooting.

Most members of the classification panel 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 might have met that threshold. As a result, the board revised the rating of the content to R18+.

A Dissenting Opinion

Some on the panel disagreed, arguing the video was "a shareable video for the likely purposes of entertainment and/or benefit (such as engagement metrics)". They also argued the comparison to the JFK assassination tape was invalid, as the Kennedy video was made public long after the assassination, "once emotions around the matter had calmed".

Reactions to the Decision

Posting on its global government affairs account, X expressed approval of the ruling.

"X fought this decision to uphold free speech and the importance of access to information about matters of public significance. Our commitment remains dedicated to protecting these principles."

A spokesperson for the safety regulator also welcomed the ruling, but noted that the revised classification now implies platforms "have obligations to ensure R18+ material being displayed to Australians under 18".

Recent Developments on Violent Content

Separately, the regulator has not issued formal notices to social media companies this week regarding disturbing videos from the Sydney beach incident circulating on social media. Officials commented that while the content were upsetting, they had not met the required standard for a "total ban" rating.

Instead, the companies have been advised to apply sensitive content labels and screens, such as obscuring the image, on this material in line with their own content policies.