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

["Followup-To:" header set to talk.politics.misc.]
On 2024-05-17, D  Ray <d@ray> wrote:
> 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/>
>
><https://archive.ph/1tSFs>

Australia is a nanny state, the government here is overbearing for a
Western country, and there is this mentality about banning everything.
In Australia, if something is deemed to potentially cause trouble, BAN
IT!