Gab refuses to remove Bishop stabbing video despite fine threat from Australia’s censorship commissar

American social media platform Gab has refused to comply with a removal
notice sent by Australia’s censorship chief threatening a fine of $782,500
if it does not take down a video of the alleged terrorist stabbing of a
Sydney bishop.

Gab CEO Andrew Torba revealed on Wednesday that the office of Australia’s
eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, had issued a takedown order and
fine threat over a post containing footage of the alleged attack on Bishop
Mar Mari Emmanuel last month.

“As a platform committed to free speech principles, Gab refused to comply
with the censorship demands of the Australian government. We believe that
the right to free speech is fundamental and are determined to stand up
against any attempts to suppress it,” Mr Torba said in an article posted to
Gab News.

“The Australian government’s threat to Gab is a clear violation of our
users’ freedom of speech.”

Mr Torba said Gab responded to Ms Inman Grant’s office with the following
statement:

“We refuse to succumb to the pressure of the Australian government and will
not censor the video posted by our user. We stand by our commitment to free
speech and support the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in their
time of need. We encourage our users to share their thoughts, prayers, and
support for Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the entire congregation affected
by this tragedy.

“Gab was founded in 2016 as an alternative to mainstream social media
platforms that are known for their overly censorious and biased policies
against conservative viewpoints. We believe in providing a platform where
users can express themselves freely within the bounds of American law. Our
leadership style is characterized by vocal advocacy for free speech and a
staunch opposition to Silicon Valley’s monopolistic control over online
discourse.”

Ms Inman Grant, an unelected American-born bureaucrat on a yearly salary of
$445,000, also ordered Meta and X to take down videos of the alleged
stabbing after Australian politicians claimed the footage was a danger to
social cohesion.

Both she and Meta have claimed that Facebook complied with the removal
notice, although a version of the stabbing popped up as the first result
when tested by Noticer News.

X owner Elon Musk hid the videos for Australian users pending a legal
challenge, saying he intends to fight the removal notice on the grounds
that it would allow the governments of individual countries to dictate what
content is allowed for global social media users.

“Our concern is that if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL
countries… then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire
Internet?” he wrote on X.

X is also challenging a takedown notice from Inman Grant relating to a post
by Canadian activist Billboard Chris, calling influential female World
Health Organisation policymaker a woman.

Billboard Chris has mounted his own legal challenge to the removal in
Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

In his first sermon after the alleged attack Bishop Emmanuel himself said
he did not want the video censored, and stressed the importance of freedom
of speech.

<https://www.noticer.news/esafety-commissioner-orders-gab-remove-bishop-stabbing-video/>

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