Musk calls Australian government 'fascists' over misinformation bill

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
13 Sep 2024 12:58

Elon Musk and the Australian government continue to trade insults as the assistant treasurer calls Musk’s comment “crackpot stuff”.

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Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk listens to a question as he speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington, March 9, 2020. (AP)

Elon Musk labeled the Australian government "fascists" in response to new legislation targeting misinformation on social media. The proposed laws could impose fines of up to 5% of annual turnover on social media companies.

Musk's reaction came in reply to a post discussing the measures.

Fascists https://t.co/NQcR9justJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 12, 2024

In response, Bill Shorten, Australia's minister for government services and minister for the national disability insurance scheme, speaking on Channel Nine, criticized Musk's inconsistent position on free speech saying, "When it’s in his commercial interests, he is the champion of free speech; when he doesn’t like it, he’s going to shut it all down."

On his part, Stephen Jones, the assistant treasurer and minister for financial services in Australia, dubbed Musk's comment as "crackpot stuff", stressing that the issue at hand is a matter of Australian "sovereignty".

"Whether it’s the Australian government or any other government around the world, we assert our right to pass laws which will keep Australians safe – safe from scammers, safe from criminals," Jones said, stressing that "for the life of me, I can’t see how Elon Musk or anyone else, in the name of free speech, thinks it is OK to have social media platforms publishing scam content, which is robbing Australians of billions of dollars every year. Publishing deepfake material, publishing child pornography. Livestreaming murder scenes. I mean, is this what he thinks free speech is all about?"

Australia's new misinformation legislation would grant the communications watchdog authority to oversee and regulate content on digital platforms. It could also enable the approval of an enforceable industry code of conduct or the introduction of standards for social media companies if self-regulation fails.

It is important to note that this isn’t Musk’s first clash with Australian authorities, however, this time, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called him an "arrogant billionaire".

Musk's free-speech rhetoric has been criticized across the globe, such as in Brazil, the UK, and a number of other countries.

Brazil’s president rebuffs Musk’s ‘far right’ ideology

Earlier this month, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also stated in an interview for CNN Brazil published on Monday that the world is not obligated to tolerate billionaire Elon Musk’s “far-right anything goes” agenda simply due to his immense wealth.

Following the suspension of Musk’s social media platform, X, in Brazil, Lula da Silva said, "The Brazilian justice system may have given an important signal that the world is not obliged to put up with Musk’s extreme right-wing anything goes just because he is rich."

Lula da Silva's long-standing dispute with Elon Musk over issues of free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation in Brazil continues to escalate. Over the weekend, Brazilians, including the president, bid farewell to X, with many users posting links to their profiles on alternative social media platforms.

Brazil represents a significant market for X, which has faced challenges with losing advertisers since Musk’s acquisition and renaming of the platform last year. Approximately 40 million Brazilians, about one-fifth of the population, use X at least once a month, according to market research group Emarketer.

The platform’s access was blocked after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered its suspension nationwide due to Musk’s refusal to appoint a legal representative in the country.