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Following a notable regulatory appeal, a national review panel has overturned a earlier ruling that blocked viewers in Australia from seeing recorded content of the shooting incident involving influencer Charlie Kirk. The appeal was lodged by Elon Musk's company X, which contested an order issued at the request of the online safety regulator.

Details of the Original Classification Ruling

Following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in September, the regulator applied to the review board to officially classify the circulating video. The board first determined the content was "unable to be classified", a rating that empowered the commissioner to instruct platforms to geo-block the videos for an Australian audience.

Elon Musk's company filed an appeal for two separate videos depicting the Kirk incident. Additionally, it contested a comparable ban on a separate video—showing the assault of Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte—which had also been deemed "unacceptable for distribution".

Arguments Presented and Board's Decision

Arguing its case, X contended that the Kirk video contained only brief violence with no visible weapon. It was argued the footage was grainy and the camera quickly panned away from the individual to the bystanders.

X maintained the footage was not overly graphic, gratuitous, or offensive, adding that it served as a neutral objective record of "a notorious public event of public importance that generated extensive public discourse". X drew a parallel between the video and the historic film of the JFK shooting.

Most members of the classification panel concluded that, "despite the terrible nature of the event," the content did not reach a level that was exploitative, gratuitous, or offensive enough to warrant a 'refused classification' rating. The board suggested that a longer or clearer version with different editing might have met that threshold. Consequently, the board changed the rating of the content to R18+.

A Dissenting Opinion

A minority on the board held a contrary view, contending the post was "content designed for sharing for the probable aim of entertainment and/or benefit (such as likes, shares, or views)". This view stated the parallel with the Zapruder JFK film was invalid, as that footage was released long after the assassination, "once emotions regarding it had calmed".

Reactions to the Decision

In a statement on its official policy channel, X welcomed the decision.

"We challenged this decision to defend free speech and the critical nature of access to information about issues of public interest. We remain dedicated to safeguarding these principles."

Representatives for the eSafety commissioner acknowledged the board's decision, but pointed out that the new R18+ rating now means platforms "have obligations to prevent R18+ material being displayed to Australians under 18".

Recent Developments on Violent Content

Separately, the eSafety commissioner has not issued formal notices to social media companies this week regarding disturbing videos from the recent Bondi beach terror attack shared across social media. Officials commented that while the content were upsetting, they did not reach the high threshold for a "total ban" rating.

As an alternative, platforms have been instructed to apply warning labels and interstitials, such as blurring, on such content in accordance with their existing community guidelines.