X ‘refused to take down’ video seen by Southport killer

Australia’s web regulator says X refused to take down a video of a high-profile stabbing in Sydney that was watched by Axel Rudakubana simply earlier than he murdered three younger ladies in Southport.

The physique, eSafety, mentioned it “famous with nice unhappiness” that Rudakubana seen the violent footage of the tried homicide of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

It mentioned different main tech companies complied with its request to take the video down, however X – owned by Elon Musk – solely blocked it in Australia, which means Rudakubana was capable of view it minutes earlier than leaving his house to hold out his lethal assault.

The 18-year-old has been sentenced to a minimal of 52 years for the murders.

X has been contacted for remark.

Law enforcement officials who investigated final July’s Southport murders – which sparked riots throughout England – found numerous gadgets throughout a search of the 18-year-old’s house in Banks, Lancashire.

They’ve mentioned it may take years to uncover what was in Rudakubana’s web shopping historical past, which he deleted earlier than he left the home to hold out his assault.

A search on X for the stabbing of the bishop was the one factor that remained, police have mentioned.

He was attacked within the Sydney suburb of Wakeley in April 2024 – an incident deemed an act of terror by the police.

The assault on the bishop throughout mass on the The Good Shepherd Church sparked unrest within the Australian metropolis.

After the assault on the bishop, which was livestreamed, eSafety mentioned it labored “collaboratively the place doable” with expertise firms to take away the video from platforms.

“Instantly following the Wakeley assault, firms together with Google, Microsoft, Snap and TikTok acted rapidly to cooperate with eSafety and make sure the Wakeley stabbing video couldn’t be accessed from their platforms,” the regulator mentioned.

“A few of these firms took further, proactive steps to scale back additional unfold of the fabric.”

eSafety subsequently contacted Meta – proprietor of Fb and Instagram – and X, telling the businesses to take away the fabric “underneath the provisions of Australia’s On-line Security Act”.

Meta did reply and took motion which was welcomed by eSafety, however X determined to not take away the video from its platform, it mentioned.

As a substitute, in keeping with the regulator, X geoblocked the footage in Australia, which means folks exterior the nation and people inside it utilizing a VPN may nonetheless watch it.

In June final 12 months, eSafety deserted a authorized battle to have the footage eliminated.

X has not responded to the BBC’s request for remark.