Elon Musk merging Twitter into X didn’t absolve X from child safety fine.

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) remains on the hook for an approximately $400,000 fine after failing to respond to an Australia eSafety Commission 2023 inquiry, which largely sought to probe measures X is currently taking to combat an alleged proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its platform.

To void the fine, X tried to persuade Australian Judge Michael Wheelahan that X had no obligation to comply with an Online Safety Act notice issued to Twitter because Twitter “ceased to exist” a few weeks after receiving the notice—when Musk merged the app into his company X Corp.

  • @MegaUltraChicken
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    1333 months ago

    I would 100x the fucking fine just for trying that argument if I was the judge.

    • @disguy_ovahea
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      163 months ago

      I’m not sure about Australia’s laws, but in the US, that could result in recusal of the judge on the grounds of bias.

    • Obinice
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      623 months ago

      Thing is, that’s exactly how you do it as a capitalist.

      Compartmentalise your businesses and ensure they’re registered so as to never come after your personal assets should they go bust.

      Then, if the business fails and goes bust, shut it down, sack everyone, and a week later reopen in the same place with a slightly different name and rehire most of the same staff under the new company.

      The new company is not in any way legally connected to the old one, and the one one’s debts are to be handled whatever administration firm took all that over, etc.

      I’ve seen it happen first hand here in the UK, good example of why capitalists are scumbags that are above our laws.

  • magnetosphere
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    793 months ago

    This reads like a sovcit defense.

    Wheelahan summarized X’s argument as saying that “X Corp was not obliged to prepare any report in Twitter Inc’s place, as X Corp was not the same person as the provider to whom the notice was issued.”

    Anyway, start charging interest. A lot. Backdated to October of last year.

    • @Zahille7
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      243 months ago

      “same person” eugh

    • Cadeillac
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      113 months ago

      I expect no less from this child

  • @someguy3
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    563 months ago

    It’s like the game you play with a baby where you put your hands over your face to hide.

  • @Blue_Morpho
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    513 months ago

    I wish companies and people were held to the standards of their own arguments.

    For example because X claimed they don’t owe anything because they changed their name from Twitter, any business dealing with X would legally be allowed to use the same argument.

  • @WoahWoah
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    363 months ago

    The fine was not written in red ink diagonally across the postage stamp. No countsy.

    -Elon Musk

  • @aeronmelon
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    213 months ago

    Anthony Mackie as falcon in Falcon and the Winter Soldier begrudgingly agreeing with something someone he hates said by saying, "He's out of line, but he's right."

    I hope the judge chuckles for a moment then triples what he owes.

  • @pyre
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    203 months ago

    lol he really went for the sovcit strats. fucking idiot.

    • @elliot_crane
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      143 months ago

      Came here to say this. Dude routinely misgenders and deadnames his daughter and claims that she died from “the woke mind virus”, then he turns around and tries to pull this shit.

  • @Breezy
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    143 months ago

    So i committed a crime, i didn’t know if i change my name i could get out of it

  • @affiliate
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    133 months ago

    does this mean the twitter brand is up for grabs? anyone can start up a new website at twitter dot com? musk’s letting go of it completely?