Elon Musk calls Australian goverment 'fascists' for proposed misinformation law

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Elon Musk on Friday called the Australian government "fascists" after a proposed law that attempts to crack down on misinformation on the Internet.

Musk issued the one-word criticism on the social media platform X, which he owns, in response to news about the proposal that could see tech companies fined up to 5% of their global revenue in Australia if they fail to prevent the spread of misinformation.

The proposal, which still requires approval from parliament, would order tech platforms to establish and follow codes of conduct surrounding the prevention of misinformation and have them approved by a regulator and would levy fines against those that fail to comply.

Australian communication minister Michelle Rowland said that "doing nothing" about misinformation is "not an option" for tech companies.

"Misinformation and disinformation pose a serious threat to the safety and well-being of Australians as well as to our democracy, society and economy," Rowland said.

Bill Shorten, Australia's minister of government services scoffed at Musk's comments , suggesting they were hypocritical and driven by his concern for his business.

"When it's in its commercial interests, he is the champion of free speech and when he doesn't like it, he is, you know, he's going to shut it down," Shorten said of Musk.

One recent squabble between X and the Australian government involved a video of the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney, a crime that received nationwide attention. Australian federal court ordered for the video to be temporarily blocked globally.

X initially blocked the video for Australian users but kept in available elsewhere, while actively fighting the court order.

"The idea that someone would go to court for the right to put up violent content on a platform shows how out of touch Mr. Musk is," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the time.

An Australian commission asking for the video to be removed, eventually dropped its objection, citing the cost of fighting X and Musk in court.