Julie Inman Grant,
Beijing’s kind of gal

Brendan O’Neill on the presumptive arrogance of eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant:

…Imagine the precedent it will set if the eSafety commissioner wins out over X (they’re currently warring in court). Might other governments likewise demand the global obliteration of social-media clips they consider offensive?

Perhaps the Chinese government will instruct platforms everywhere to take down clips of violence from Tiananmen Square in 1989 – you know, to keep Chinese citizens ‘safe’ from such politically troublesome images. Maybe Iran will issue takedown orders for clips of its revolutionary guards visiting their theocratic violence on anti-hijab protesters. Giving local functionaries global power is a recipe for tyranny…

and on the motive of a Prime Minister whose government owes much to Labor voters in heavily Muslim electorates:

…In this case, it seems pretty clear that the allegedly Islamist nature of the attack is a key factor in the government’s desire to memory-hole footage of it. They don’t want Australians having an open, frank discussion about radical Islam and the social disarray it springs from. Hide the video, stop the debate.

O’Neill’s piece can be read in full here.