https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/brisbane-news-live-luxury-r...Bishop stabbed in Sydney church backs Elon Musk’s bid to keep video online
By Paul Sakkal
The bishop attacked in the western Sydney church stabbing has taken the side of Elon Musk and called for the video of the incident to remain online.
Musk’s firm X is in a legal battle with the Australian eSafety Commissioner, which has demanded videos of the alleged stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel be removed from social media platforms X, Facebook and Instagram.
Musk’s firm has said it geo-blocked the videos in Australia. But the Australian regulator is demanding the videos be blocked even for those within Australia using a VPN service that evades the geoblock feature. Musk has called this request a “global content” ban.
In a Federal Court hearing, lawyers for Musk’s firm detailed an affidavit from the bishop, who they said had pleaded for the videos to remain online.
“He’s strongly of the view that the material should be available,” X lawyer Marcus Hoyne said.
The bishop is a well-known preacher in the Assyrian Orthodox church who has developed a worldwide online following for his conservative positions on COVID-19 measures, trans rights and geopolitics.
Counter-terrorism police raided multiple addresses in Sydney today in relation to the Wakeley church stabbing.
“The JCTT [joint counter-terrorism team] Sydney is executing search warrants in Sydney today as part of an ongoing investigation. There is no current threat to public safety and no connection to Anzac Day commemorations,” a police statement said.