XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.misc, alt.politics.immigration   
   XPost: aus.politics   
   From: d@ray   
      
   American social media platform Gab has refused to comply with a removal   
   notice sent by Australia’s censorship chief threatening a fine of $782,500   
   if it does not take down a video of the alleged terrorist stabbing of a   
   Sydney bishop.   
      
   Gab CEO Andrew Torba revealed on Wednesday that the office of Australia’s   
   eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, had issued a takedown order and   
   fine threat over a post containing footage of the alleged attack on Bishop   
   Mar Mari Emmanuel last month.   
      
   “As a platform committed to free speech principles, Gab refused to comply   
   with the censorship demands of the Australian government. We believe that   
   the right to free speech is fundamental and are determined to stand up   
   against any attempts to suppress it,” Mr Torba said in an article posted to   
   Gab News.   
      
   “The Australian government’s threat to Gab is a clear violation of our   
   users’ freedom of speech.”   
      
   Mr Torba said Gab responded to Ms Inman Grant’s office with the following   
   statement:   
      
   “We refuse to succumb to the pressure of the Australian government and will   
   not censor the video posted by our user. We stand by our commitment to free   
   speech and support the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in their   
   time of need. We encourage our users to share their thoughts, prayers, and   
   support for Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the entire congregation affected   
   by this tragedy.   
      
   “Gab was founded in 2016 as an alternative to mainstream social media   
   platforms that are known for their overly censorious and biased policies   
   against conservative viewpoints. We believe in providing a platform where   
   users can express themselves freely within the bounds of American law. Our   
   leadership style is characterized by vocal advocacy for free speech and a   
   staunch opposition to Silicon Valley’s monopolistic control over online   
   discourse.”   
      
   Ms Inman Grant, an unelected American-born bureaucrat on a yearly salary of   
   $445,000, also ordered Meta and X to take down videos of the alleged   
   stabbing after Australian politicians claimed the footage was a danger to   
   social cohesion.   
      
   Both she and Meta have claimed that Facebook complied with the removal   
   notice, although a version of the stabbing popped up as the first result   
   when tested by Noticer News.   
      
   X owner Elon Musk hid the videos for Australian users pending a legal   
   challenge, saying he intends to fight the removal notice on the grounds   
   that it would allow the governments of individual countries to dictate what   
   content is allowed for global social media users.   
      
   “Our concern is that if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL   
   countries… then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire   
   Internet?” he wrote on X.   
      
   X is also challenging a takedown notice from Inman Grant relating to a post   
   by Canadian activist Billboard Chris, calling influential female World   
   Health Organisation policymaker a woman.   
      
   Billboard Chris has mounted his own legal challenge to the removal in   
   Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal.   
      
   In his first sermon after the alleged attack Bishop Emmanuel himself said   
   he did not want the video censored, and stressed the importance of freedom   
   of speech.   
      
      
      
      
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)