Elon Musk

[Angrboda]

Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter) remains on the hook for an approximately $400,000 fine after failing to respond to an Australia eSafety Commission 2023 inquiry, which largely sought to probe measures X is currently taking to combat an alleged proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its platform.

To void the fine, X tried to persuade Australian Judge Michael Wheelahan that X had no obligation to comply with an Online Safety Act notice issued to Twitter because Twitter "ceased to exist" a few weeks after receiving the notice—when Musk merged the app into his company X Corp.

Wheelahan summarized X's argument as saying that "X Corp was not obliged to prepare any report in Twitter Inc’s place, as X Corp was not the same person as the provider to whom the notice was issued."

But Wheelahan ruled Friday that the fine should be upheld, rejecting the "bare premise" that X assumed no legal responsibility to respond to the notice after Twitter ceased to exist.

X's argument failed because Wheelahan found that under Nevada law, merging Twitter into X turned Twitter into a "constituent entity," which then transferred all of Twitter's legal consequences to X Corp.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024...ore-fines/