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In a notable legal reversal, the Australian classification review board has reversed a earlier ruling that prevented viewers in Australia from accessing video footage of the shooting incident involving conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. This challenge was lodged by Elon Musk's social media platform, arguing against an order issued at the request of the national eSafety commissioner.

Details of the Case and Classification Ruling

Following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in September, the eSafety commissioner petitioned the review board to officially classify the available footage. The board initially ruled the content was "refused classification", a designation that allowed the commissioner to order social media companies to geo-block the videos for users in Australia.

The platform X challenged the decision for two separate videos related to the Kirk incident. It also appealed a comparable ban on another piece of footage—depicting the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte—which had also been classified as "refused classification".

The Platform's Case and Final Ruling

In its appeal, X asserted that the footage in question contained only a short moment of violence with the weapon not shown. It was argued the recording was low-quality and the focus shifted rapidly from the victim to the bystanders.

The social media giant maintained the footage was not overly graphic, gratuitous, or objectionable, stating it served as a neutral objective record of "a significant incident of public importance that generated widespread discussion". X even compared the footage and the well-known recording of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The majority of the review board ultimately agreed that, "notwithstanding the heinous nature of the event," the content 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. As a result, the panel revised the rating of the videos to R18+.

The Minority Viewpoint

Some on the board held a contrary view, contending the video was "content designed for sharing for the likely purposes of entertainment and/or benefit (such as engagement metrics)". They also argued the comparison to the JFK assassination tape was flawed, as the Kennedy video was made public years after the event, "after public sentiment regarding it had subsided".

Reactions to the Decision

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

"X fought this decision to defend freedom of expression and the importance of public access about matters of public significance. We remain committed to safeguarding these fundamental values."

Representatives for the eSafety commissioner acknowledged the ruling, but noted that the revised classification now means platforms "must take steps to prevent R18+ material is not accessible to Australians under 18".

Recent Developments on Sensitive Footage

Separately, the eSafety commissioner did not issue formal notices to platforms this week regarding disturbing videos from the Sydney beach incident shared across social media. The regulator stated that while the images were distressing, they did not reach the required standard for a "total ban" rating.

As an alternative, platforms have been instructed to use sensitive content labels and interstitials, such as obscuring the image, on such content in line with their existing community guidelines.