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In a notable regulatory appeal, a national review panel has overturned a prior decision that blocked viewers in Australia from accessing recorded content of the violent event involving influencer Charlie Kirk. The appeal was lodged by Elon Musk's social media platform, arguing against an order sought by the national eSafety commissioner.

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 classification board to assess and rate the available footage. The board initially ruled the content was "unable to be classified", a designation that empowered the commissioner to instruct social media companies to restrict access to the videos for users in Australia.

Elon Musk's company filed an appeal for two separate videos related to the Kirk incident. It also appealed a comparable ban on a separate video—depicting the assault of Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte—which had also been classified as "refused classification".

The Platform's Case and Final Ruling

Arguing its case, X asserted that the Kirk video contained only brief violence with no visible weapon. The company noted the recording was low-quality and the camera quickly panned away from the victim to the surrounding crowd.

The social media giant maintained the footage was not overly graphic, exploitative, or objectionable, stating it served as a neutral objective record of "a significant incident of historical and political significance that generated extensive public discourse". The platform even compared the video and the well-known recording of the JFK shooting.

Most members of the review board concluded that, "notwithstanding the heinous nature of the event," the content did not reach a level that was gratuitous, exploitative or offensive enough to warrant a 'refused classification' rating. The board suggested that a more detailed depiction with alternative commentary could have met that threshold. As a result, the panel changed the classification of the videos to R18+.

The Minority Viewpoint

Some on the panel held a contrary view, arguing the video was "a shareable video for the likely purposes of amusement and/or benefit (such as engagement metrics)". This view stated the parallel with the JFK assassination tape was flawed, as the Kennedy video was released long after the assassination, "once emotions around the matter had subsided".

Reactions to the Outcome

In a statement on its official policy channel, X expressed approval of the decision.

"X fought this decision to uphold freedom of expression and the critical nature of access to information about matters of public significance. We remain dedicated to protecting these principles."

A spokesperson for the safety regulator acknowledged the ruling, but noted that the new R18+ rating now implies platforms "must take steps to ensure R18+ material is not accessible to users who are minors".

Recent Developments on Violent Content

In related news, the eSafety commissioner has not issued take-down orders to platforms this week regarding graphic footage from the recent Bondi beach terror attack shared across 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, platforms have been advised to apply warning labels and interstitials, such as blurring, on such content in line with their existing community guidelines.