X was fined for failing to deal with child abuse in Australia

X (formerly Twitter) has been fined $610,500 by the Australian Electronic Safety Commission for failing to cooperate with investigations related to anti-child abuse measures. The fine may not seem like a big number to Elon Musk, who paid $44 billion to acquire the platform, but it raises serious concerns about the platform’s commitment to user security.

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The problem started when X failed to answer questions about how to recognize and respond to cases of child abuse. After acquiring Twitter and turning it into X, Musk announced that the fight against child abuse is the company’s top priority. However, the Australian regulator found that X’s actions did not match its claims.

The European Union’s investigation into possible violations of new technology laws in X has also become problematic for the platform. The platform is said to have made no effort to combat misinformation. The impact of the Australian fine goes beyond monetary value and actually damages the platform’s reputation. At the same time, many advertising companies have doubts about being on this social network. X has seen a steady decline in revenue, and if it doesn’t take effective measures to moderate content, things may get worse for it.

Julie Inman Gant from the Australian Electronic Safety Commission raised an important question in this regard. According to him, if X is really committed to dealing with illegal content, why hasn’t it taken clear steps in this regard? He believes that the lack of response from X can indicate the lack of a solution from this company.

X’s office in Australia was closed after Musk took over the company, so there is no local representative in Australia to comment on the matter. If X does not pay the fine, the Australian Electronic Safety Commission can sue the company in court. X recently confirmed an 80% reduction in its global workforce and admitted that its preventive measures had been reduced.