Elon Musk's X Corp fined for child safety law breach in Australia: Here’s what happens next

Elon Musk's X Corp has been ordered to pay increased penalties in Australia after admitting it breached the country’s online safety laws. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, the company said that it failed to provide information about measures designed to combat child exploitation online. The latest ruling ends a legal dispute that began nearly three years ago between the social media platform and Australia’s eSafety regulator.During a hearing in Australia’s Federal Court, X acknowledged violating the country’s Online Safety Act after failing to adequately respond to a request for information regarding anti-child exploitation processes. “The respondent admits that it contravened the Act,” said lawyer Christopher Tran, representing the eSafety Commissioner. He added: “There was ongoing noncompliance for some 38 days.”Judge Michael Wheelahan increased the original fine from A$610,500 to A$650,000 and ordered X to pay an additional A$100,000 toward the regulator’s legal costs.The case stems from a 2023 penalty issued by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner after the company, then operating under the name Twitter following Elon Musk’s acquisition, allegedly provided inadequate responses to around 25 questions related to online child protection measures.The legal action focused on X’s failure to provide requested information within the required timeframe rather than allegations of direct harm caused by the platform.Tran acknowledged in court that there was “no loss resulting from X’s actions” but argued that “not providing information when requested by a regulator impedes a regulator when doing her work”.With the company admitting wrongdoing and the court finalising penalties, the dispute appears to have reached its conclusion unless further appeals emerge.X’s lawyer, Perry Herzfeld, described the issue as involving “historic issues relating to the timeliness of provision of information”. He added that the conduct occurred during a “period of change and transition for the company”.The company initially challenged the fine by arguing that organisational changes following Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter affected the case. X had sought to overturn penalties partly on grounds linked to the company’s renamed corporate structure after the takeover.The resolution also marks the end of another dispute over regulations for X, as content moderation and online safety continue to attract regulatory attention in many jurisdictions.It should be noted that the regulator for Australia’s eSafety had previously been in conflict with Musk and X over content moderation practices, and hence, the latest case is just another instance of such conflicts.