A major free speech battle is underway in Australia as Canadian activist “Billboard Chris,” aka Chris Elston, and Elon Musk’s social media platform X take on Australia's government censorship. The Administrative Review Tribunal in Melbourne is hearing the case, which could have global implications for online expression, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
The case challenges a decision by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner to censor a post by Elston on X that criticized radical gender ideology. The post included a Daily Mail article titled, “Kinky secrets of UN trans expert REVEALED: Australian activist plugs bondage, bestiality, nudism, drugs, and tax-funded sex-change ops — so why is he writing health advice for the world body?”
Elston wrote in the post, “People who belong in psychiatric wards are writing the guidelines for people who belong in psychiatric wards.”
Cook then filed a complaint, and the eSafety Commissioner ordered the post removed in Australia. While X initially refused, it later geo-blocked the content after receiving a formal removal order.
This legal fight will be pivotal in the growing concerns over censorship, an issue US Vice President JD Vance has repeatedly raised. Vance has warned repeatedly about restrictions on speech affecting not only British and Australian citizens but also American tech companies and their users. Speaking in Paris, Vance said that while online safety is important, the focus should be on protecting children from predators, “rather than preventing a grown man or woman from accessing an opinion that the government thinks is misinformation.”
Robert Clarke, Director of Advocacy for ADF International—one of the groups backing Elston’s case—criticized the Australian government’s actions. “The decision of Australian authorities to prevent Australian citizens from hearing and evaluating information about gender ideology is a patronizing affront to the principles of democracy,” he said. Clarke also pointed out that the case shows how censorship is becoming a global issue: “The confidence of the Australian eSafety commissioner to censor citizens of Canada on an American platform, shows the truly global nature of the free speech crisis.”
Elston himself called the case a sign of a larger problem. “My case is an example of the free speech crisis here in Australia and across the West,” he said. “Gender ideology can only thrive under censorship – when we are deprived of shining a light on the madness.”
The hearing in Melbourne is set to last five days. Both Elston and X, backed by ADF International and the Australian Human Rights Law Alliance, are fighting the order in court.
The case challenges a decision by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner to censor a post by Elston on X that criticized radical gender ideology. The post included a Daily Mail article titled, “Kinky secrets of UN trans expert REVEALED: Australian activist plugs bondage, bestiality, nudism, drugs, and tax-funded sex-change ops — so why is he writing health advice for the world body?”
Elston wrote in the post, “People who belong in psychiatric wards are writing the guidelines for people who belong in psychiatric wards.”
Cook then filed a complaint, and the eSafety Commissioner ordered the post removed in Australia. While X initially refused, it later geo-blocked the content after receiving a formal removal order.
This legal fight will be pivotal in the growing concerns over censorship, an issue US Vice President JD Vance has repeatedly raised. Vance has warned repeatedly about restrictions on speech affecting not only British and Australian citizens but also American tech companies and their users. Speaking in Paris, Vance said that while online safety is important, the focus should be on protecting children from predators, “rather than preventing a grown man or woman from accessing an opinion that the government thinks is misinformation.”
Robert Clarke, Director of Advocacy for ADF International—one of the groups backing Elston’s case—criticized the Australian government’s actions. “The decision of Australian authorities to prevent Australian citizens from hearing and evaluating information about gender ideology is a patronizing affront to the principles of democracy,” he said. Clarke also pointed out that the case shows how censorship is becoming a global issue: “The confidence of the Australian eSafety commissioner to censor citizens of Canada on an American platform, shows the truly global nature of the free speech crisis.”
Elston himself called the case a sign of a larger problem. “My case is an example of the free speech crisis here in Australia and across the West,” he said. “Gender ideology can only thrive under censorship – when we are deprived of shining a light on the madness.”
The hearing in Melbourne is set to last five days. Both Elston and X, backed by ADF International and the Australian Human Rights Law Alliance, are fighting the order in court.
