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Australia’s controversial eSafety Commissioner has threatened social media giant X with daily fines of up to $825,000 for refusing to take down or block posts containing CCTV footage of the fatal attack on Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in the U.S.

I suspect the @eSafetyOffice has made another unlawful ruling in ordering @elonmusk and @X to take down the Iryna Zarutska video put up by @DVanLangenhove. So I’m reposting the video.
If the order is proven unlawful in a tribunal or court, the eSafety Commissioner should resign. pic.twitter.com/nc9RuVmYOQ

— George Christensen (@NationFirstAust) October 5, 2025

The footage shows Zarutska being killed by Decarlos Brown, a man with a long record of violent crime who had been released just weeks earlier under North Carolina’s bail laws.

Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant has issued a 20-page removal notice to X on September 26, demanding the platform censor 23 specific posts featuring raw CCTV clips showing the last moments of Iryna Zarutska's life for Australian users.
If X doesn't comply, it… pic.twitter.com/rR11LKyjZA

— Rukshan Fernando (@therealrukshan) October 5, 2025

The order, issued by eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, declared the video “refused classification” under Australian content laws and warned that X could face severe penalties if it failed to comply.

The 20-page notice, dated September 26, stated, “Failure to comply with the Notice may result in enforcement action, including the commencement of civil penalty proceedings for a civil penalty order of up to a maximum penalty of $825,000 (AUD) for a single contravention by a body corporate.”

This is the Australian moron trying to censor the entire internet, including posts by Americans. pic.twitter.com/So1mqTXjof

— Moron Finder (@FoundAMoron) October 5, 2025

Inman Grant’s directive targeted 23 posts from journalists and commentators who had shared the footage. X has reportedly restricted some of the targeted posts for Australian users but has not globally removed them.

The confrontation comes as Inman Grant’s office prepares to enforce nationwide digital ID requirements and social media age limits from December 10. An American-born former Twitter executive, Inman Grant has long pushed for tighter control of online content in Australia. Her tenure has seen repeated clashes with X and its owner Elon Musk, who has called her a “censorship commissar.”

The Australian 🇦🇺 saga gets even crazier.

Moments ago X sent me a twenty-page letter they received from the Australian eSafety Commissioner in which she demands X removes or geoblocks the posts of 23 accounts including mine. X will be fined $825,000 (AUD) for each day that it… pic.twitter.com/7xC1V4WFXm

— Dries Van Langenhove (@DVanLangenhove) October 4, 2025

Inman Grant’s previous attempt to compel X to censor footage of a church stabbing in Sydney ended in failure after the platform argued Australia had no authority to impose global content restrictions. X later hailed that case as a victory for free speech.