Around the world, governments are trying to censor the Internet, not just for their own citizens but for everyone.
This was dismissed as a conspiracy theory until late April, when the Australian government demanded that social media platforms take down a violent video, not just in Australia but everywhere.
All of the social media platforms, including Facebook and Google, complied with the Australian government’s demand except for Elon Musk’s X, which took the case to court.
In response, Australia’s Prime Minister said Musk "thinks he's above the law” and that he found “it extraordinary that X chose not to comply and are trying to argue their case.” A Senator from Australia called for Musk to be jailed.
But Musk’s principled defense of free speech was vindicated a few hours ago when an Australian court ruled in Musk’s favor, and Australia’s top censor, known as an “eSafety Commissioner,” dropped her lawsuit.
This free-speech victory isn’t the end of the story. Australia, like governments around the world, is determined to expand government censorship. We can expect they’ll be back with fresh censorship demands any day now.
But this is just the free speech victory we needed right now. It comes two weeks before a major free speech event in Dublin on June 18, where Russell Brand will join me in supporting our Irish friends in their efforts to kill a hate speech law, which would allow the police to invade people’s homes and search their phones and computers. (Get tickets.)
