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Following a notable legal reversal, a national review panel has overturned a earlier ruling that prevented viewers in Australia from seeing video footage of the violent event involving influencer Charlie Kirk. This challenge was initiated by Elon Musk's company X, which contested an order issued at the request of the online safety regulator.

Details of the Case and Classification Ruling

After the death of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in last year, the eSafety commissioner petitioned the review board to assess and rate the circulating video. It initially ruled the content was "refused classification", a designation that empowered the regulator to instruct platforms to restrict access to the videos for users in Australia.

The platform X filed an appeal for a pair of videos depicting the Kirk incident. Additionally, it contested a similar ruling on another piece of footage—showing the assault of Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina train—which had also been deemed "refused classification".

Arguments Presented and Final Ruling

In its appeal, X asserted that the Kirk video contained only a short moment of violence with no visible weapon. The company noted the footage was grainy and the camera quickly panned away from the individual to the surrounding crowd.

X argued the video was not overly graphic, exploitative, or objectionable, stating it served as a neutral objective record of "a notorious public event of public importance that prompted widespread discussion". The platform drew a parallel between the footage and the well-known recording of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

The majority of the classification panel concluded that, "despite the terrible nature of the event," the video did not reach a level that was exploitative, gratuitous, or offensive enough to justify a complete ban. The board suggested that a more detailed depiction with alternative commentary might have resulted in a different ruling. As a result, the board changed the classification of the videos to R18+.

A Dissenting Opinion

Some on the panel disagreed, arguing the post was "content designed for sharing for the likely purposes of amusement and/or personal gain (such as engagement metrics)". They also argued the parallel with the Zapruder JFK film was flawed, as the Kennedy video was made public long after the event, "after public sentiment regarding it had calmed".

Reactions to the Decision

In a statement on its global government affairs account, the platform expressed approval of the decision.

"X fought this decision to uphold free speech and the importance of public access about issues of public interest. We remain committed to protecting these fundamental values."

A spokesperson for the eSafety commissioner also welcomed the ruling, but pointed out that the new R18+ rating now means platforms "must take steps to ensure R18+ material being displayed to Australians under 18".

Recent Developments on Violent Content

Separately, the eSafety commissioner did not issue take-down orders to platforms this week regarding disturbing videos from the Sydney beach incident circulating on social media. Officials commented that while the images were upsetting, they did not reach the high threshold for a "total ban" rating.

As an alternative, platforms have been advised to apply warning labels and interstitials, such as blurring, on such content in accordance with their existing community guidelines.