Elon Musk has branded the Australian government “fascists” over proposals to fine social media companies that fail to stop the spread of misinformation online.
X owner Musk late on Thursday responded to a post about the proposed law with one word: “Fascists”.
Musk has clashed with Australian authorities on the topic of free speech before.
In April, X took Australia’s eSafety commissioner to court to challenge an order to remove posts related to a knife attack on a bishop in Sydney.
The case led to a war of words between Musk and Australian officials, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labeling the tech founder an “arrogant billionaire”.
Australian Government Services Minister Bill Shorten rejected Musk’s comments, accusing the Tesla CEO of being inconsistent on freedom of speech.
Under proposals by Australia’s center-left Labor Party government, platforms could be fined up to 5 percent of global annual revenue if they allow the spread of content that is “reasonably verifiable as false, misleading or deceptive and reasonably likely to cause or contribute to serious harm”.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced the legislation on Thursday after a previous draft of the law was scrapped following backlash from media outlets, civil liberties advocates, and the country’s human rights watchdog.
“Misinformation and disinformation pose a serious threat to the safety and wellbeing of Australians, as well as to our democracy, society and economy.
Doing nothing and allowing this problem to fester is not an option,” Rowland said.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones also hit back at Musk, saying the law is a matter of national sovereignty.
