The Australian government is considering legislation that appears to give Australia jurisdiction over all social media companies worldwide that run afoul of their national laws. The legislation would grant Australia the power to retrieve any data from any person or company affiliated with a social media company.
X protested the bill, claiming it would “compel any person outside Australia to provide information and documents merely because they are affiliated with a company.” X claimed the bill gave no “due regard to procedural fairness, privacy, the broader impacts on online services, and Australia’s digital economy.” Elon Musk called it a “backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians.”
Australian Government Moves to Censor Americans with Global Free Speech Crackdown– slaynews.com
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EXCERPT:
Elon Musk’s X is sounding the alarm over a sweeping new Australian censorship proposal that could allow government regulators to demand documents and personal information from people outside the country, including Americans.
In a formal submission to the Australian Senate, X warned that the legislation would dramatically expand the power of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner and reach far beyond the nation’s borders.
Under the proposal, a person would not need to live in Australia or operate an Australian company to be targeted.
They would only need to be considered “affiliated” with an online platform.
