X Corp fined $650k over child abuse notice failure
Social media giant X Corp has been fined $650,000 for failing to properly respond to Australia’s security alert regarding child sexual abuse material.
The Federal Court sentence handed down on Thursday comes more than three years after the eSafety Commissioner first issued notice to the US-based company.
The notice, dated February 2023, asked the company, then known as Twitter, to prepare a report on its compliance with basic online safety expectations regarding material related to child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Twitter merged with X Corp on March 15, and the company later submitted its report to the commissioner on March 29.
However, the commissioner identified unanswered questions in the report and wrote to X Corp on April 6 seeking more information, which information was eventually provided on May 5.
The Commissioner took X Corp to the Federal Court, arguing that it had breached the Online Security Act between March 29 and May 5 by failing to respond appropriately to a security notice.
The company initially challenged the charges in court, arguing that it did not have to comply with the notice because Twitter ceased to be a company after the merger.
However, Judge Michael Wheelahan rejected this argument and ruled in the commissioner’s favor in October 2024, ordering X Corp to comply with this notice.
The decision was upheld by the Federal Court in July 2025 after X Corp attempted to appeal the decision.
The US-based company acknowledged the breaches on Thursday but said they occurred at a time of significant corporate changes due to the merger.
The parties agreed to the $650,000 penalty imposed by Judge Wheelahan.
The judge found that a sentence closer to the current maximum fine of $687,500 was appropriate.
“A near-maximum sentence is appropriate in the case of the defendant, who is a significant company that operates as a real deterrent and is not merely a cost of doing business,” he said in his written reasoning.
X Corp also agreed to pay the commissioner $100,000 in attorneys’ fees.
The commissioner welcomed Thursday’s decision and said it was important for international companies to comply with Australian regulations.
“Meaningful transparency is critical to holding technology companies accountable,” E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement. he said.
X Corp will have 45 days to pay the fines.
