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Following a significant regulatory appeal, the Australian classification review board has overturned a earlier ruling that prevented Australian-based users from seeing video footage of the violent event involving influencer Charlie Kirk. The appeal was lodged by Elon Musk's company X, which contested an order sought by the online safety regulator.

Background on the Original Classification Ruling

After the death of Charlie Kirk at a US campus in last year, the regulator petitioned the review board to assess and rate the circulating video. The board initially ruled the content was "refused classification", a rating that allowed the commissioner to order platforms to geo-block the posts for users in Australia.

The platform X filed an appeal for two separate videos related to the Kirk incident. It also appealed a similar ruling on another piece of footage—showing the attack on Iryna Zarutska on a North Carolina train—which had likewise been deemed "refused classification".

Arguments Presented and Board's Decision

In its appeal, X contended that the footage in question contained only brief violence with no visible weapon. It was argued the footage was grainy and the focus shifted rapidly from the individual to the bystanders.

The social media giant maintained the footage was not excessively detailed, exploitative, or offensive, adding that it served as a factual documentation of "a notorious public event of historical and political significance that generated extensive public discourse". X even compared the video and the historic film of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Most members of the review board ultimately agreed that, "despite the terrible nature of the event," the video 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 could have met that threshold. As a result, the board changed the rating of the videos to R18+.

The Minority Opinion

Some on the panel held a contrary view, contending the post was "a shareable video for the likely purposes of entertainment and/or benefit (such as engagement metrics)". They also argued the parallel with the JFK assassination tape was flawed, as the Kennedy video was made public years after the assassination, "after public sentiment around the matter had calmed".

Response Following the Decision

In a statement on its official policy channel, the platform welcomed the ruling.

"We challenged this case to uphold free speech and the importance of public access about issues of public interest. Our commitment remains committed to safeguarding these fundamental values."

Representatives for the safety regulator acknowledged the ruling, but noted that the new R18+ rating now implies platforms "must take steps to ensure R18+ material is not accessible to Australians under 18".

Broader Context on Sensitive Footage

Separately, the regulator did not issue take-down orders to social media companies this week regarding disturbing videos from the Sydney beach incident circulating on social media. The regulator stated that while the images were distressing, they did not reach the required standard for a "refused classification" rating.

As an alternative, the companies have been advised to apply sensitive content labels and screens, such as obscuring the image, on this material in accordance with their existing community guidelines.