Elon Musk‘s rebranded social media giant, X, has been slapped with a A$610,500 fine by Australia’s e-Safety Commission for not cooperating in an inquiry related to anti-child abuse practices. The fine might appear small change for Musk, who paid a whopping US$44 billion to acquire the platform. However, it raises significant concerns about the platform’s commitment to user safety.

People are stating that X needs to be more transparent with its users

The trouble started when X failed to address questions about its responsiveness and methods for detecting child abuse material. After taking over Twitter and turning it into X, Musk had declared that combating child exploitation was the company’s top priority. Still, the Australian regulator found X’s actions didn’t match its words.

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Adding fuel to the fire is the EU’s ongoing investigation into X for potential violations of new tech laws. Accusations point to the platform’s weak effort to combat disinformation, notably related to the Hamas-Israel conflict.

The fine’s impact goes beyond monetary value; it deals a reputational blow to X at a time when advertisers are already skeptical. The platform has seen a continuous dip in revenue, and things might worsen if it doesn’t take effective measures for content moderation.

Julie Inman Grant, the e-Safety Commissioner, raised an important question. If X is genuinely committed to addressing illegal content, why isn’t it transparent in its actions? A lack of answers could indicate a lack of solutions, she suggested.

X’s Australian office was shut down post-acquisition, leaving no local representative to comment on the matter. If X doesn’t pay the fine, the e-Safety Commission can take the company to court. And the timing couldn’t be worse for X. They recently confirmed an 80% global workforce reduction and admitted their proactive detection measures had declined.

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