In a significant regulatory appeal, the Australian classification review board has reversed a earlier ruling that prevented viewers in Australia from seeing video footage of the shooting incident involving influencer Charlie Kirk. This challenge was initiated by Elon Musk's social media platform, arguing against an directive sought by the national eSafety commissioner.
Following the death of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in last year, the eSafety commissioner applied to the classification board to officially classify the circulating video. It first determined the content was "unable to be classified", a rating that empowered the regulator to instruct social media companies to restrict access to the posts for users in Australia.
The platform X challenged the decision for two separate videos depicting the Kirk incident. Additionally, it contested a similar ruling on another piece of footage—depicting the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte—which had also been deemed "refused classification".
Arguing its case, X contended that the footage in question contained only a short moment of violence with no visible weapon. It was argued the footage was grainy and the focus shifted rapidly from the victim to the surrounding crowd.
X maintained the footage was not excessively detailed, exploitative, or objectionable, stating it served as a factual documentation of "a notorious public event of historical and political significance that prompted widespread discussion". The platform even compared the footage and the well-known recording of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Most members of the review board concluded that, "notwithstanding the heinous nature of the event," the video did not reach a level that was gratuitous, exploitative or offensive enough to warrant a 'refused classification' rating. However, they noted that a longer or clearer version with different editing might have resulted in a different ruling. As a result, the board revised the classification of the videos to R18+.
A minority on the panel disagreed, arguing the video was "content designed for sharing for the probable aim of entertainment and/or benefit (such as likes, shares, or views)". They also argued the parallel with the JFK assassination tape was invalid, as that footage was made public years after the event, "after public sentiment regarding it had calmed".
In a statement on its official policy channel, X expressed approval of the ruling.
"We challenged this case to defend freedom of expression and the importance of access to information about matters of public significance. Our commitment remains dedicated to protecting these principles."
A spokesperson for the eSafety commissioner also welcomed the ruling, but pointed out that the revised classification now implies platforms "must take steps to ensure R18+ material being displayed to Australians under 18".
In related news, the regulator did not issue formal notices to platforms this week regarding graphic footage from the Sydney beach incident shared across social media. Officials commented that while the content were upsetting, they had not met the high threshold for a "total ban" rating.
Instead, the companies have been instructed to use warning labels and screens, such as blurring, on this material in line with their own content policies.
