Australia’s eSafety commissioner has been accused of ‘threatening’ American freedom of speech and ordered to answer to US Congress by a fervent Trump ally.
Julie Inman-Grant was sent a letter by the Committee on the Judiciary of the US House of Representatives, demanding answers about her Online Safety Act.
The letter, seen by Sky News Australia, was written by committee chair and Republican congressman Jim Jordan.
‘(The)Â expansive interpretation and enforcement of Australia’s (Online Safety Act)… directly threatens American speech,’ he wrote on Tuesday, local time.
Ms Inman-Grant was called a ‘noted zealot for global takedowns’ by Jordan, referencing what he claims was an attempt by her to remove X content globally.
He also described her as ‘working with US-based organisations and universities to facilitate and encourage co-operation with foreign censorship regimes’.
The aim of Jordan’s inquiry is to understand laws, like the Online Safety Act, to ‘develop effective legislation… to ensure that foreign laws cannot silence Americans in the United States or severely burden American companies’.
The eSafety commissioner has been summoned to the US for December, two weeks after the letter was issued.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant (pictured) was sent a letter by the Committee on the Judiciary of the US House of Representatives about the Online Safety Act
Committee chairman and Trump Ally Jim Jordan claimed that Ms Inman-Grant a ‘noted zealot for global takedowns’ in the letter seen by Sky News
Jordan (pictured) described the eSafety boss as ‘working with US-based organisations and universities to facilitate and encourage co-operation with foreign censorship regimes’
While she is not legally required to attend, a spokesperson for the US House of Representatives Committee told Sky News: ‘If there is nothing to hide then she should voluntarily appear.’
But an eSafety spokesperson told Daily Mail the commission ‘does not require global removal of harmful content under the Online Safety Act’.
‘Technology companies which supply services or display content to Australians must comply with Australian laws and are required to take reasonable steps to comply,’ they said.
‘In the case of removal notices, eSafety considers geo-blocking to be a reasonable step.Â
‘This was most recently demonstrated through our acceptance of geoblocking in the Charlie Kirk, Zarutska, and Nagamallaiah murders where content is illegal to display to Australians, but not to others.Â
‘There’s nothing we’re doing that prevents American companies from displaying whatever they want to Americans.’
The Albanese government’s Online Safety Act 2021 has attempted to make Australia’s existing laws for online safety more expansive and much stronger.
Under its changes, young Australians under 16 will be banned from using social media, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and Snapchat from December 10.
The federal government has defended the under-16s social media ban as a way to protect children from harmful content online.Â
However, critics say the exemptions for gaming and messaging apps leave serious gaps in protection and raise questions about what qualifies as ‘social media’.
The eSafety Commissioner does not have the authority to formally designate platforms as age-restricted but it can make recommendations and ask platforms to self-assess according to legislated criteria.
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Australia’s esafety boss ordered before US congress as she is accused of ‘threatening’ American freedom of speech