A scathing letter from a senior U.S. lawmaker has surfaced, accusing Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant of posing a “direct threat” to the free speech rights of Americans and urging her to testify before Congress within a fortnight. The letter, signed by House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan, brands U.S.-born Inman Grant a “zealot” and alleges her interpretation of Australia’s Online Safety Act gives her sweeping authority over speech well beyond Australia’s borders. Jordan, a close ally of President Donald Trump, insists her reading of the law means “your claim of extraterritorial jurisdiction to censor speech outside of Australia – directly threatens American speech.”
The document further argues that the controversial commissioner’s appearance at a Stanford University event in September demonstrates links with “pro-censorship entities”. It says the roundtable “sought to facilitate cooperation with global censorship by bringing together foreign officials who have directly targeted American speech”. Jordan adds that Inman Grant’s “close ties with Stanford are troubling” and refers to a previous committee finding that the Stanford Internet Observatory had played a “key role” in helping U.S. authorities “covertly silence American voices to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election”.
While the request is voluntary, the committee has indicated it may consider compelling her testimony. A spokesperson said: “If there is nothing to hide, then she should voluntarily appear before Congress”. E-Safety later issued a statement saying the regulator “does not require global removal of harmful content under the Online Safety Act” and that “geoblocking” is considered a “reasonable step”. It added that “there’s nothing we’re doing that prevents American companies from displaying whatever they want to Americans”.
The spokesperson also stressed the regulator’s global cooperation with law enforcement and other partners, noting that although free political communication is fundamental, parliament has deemed certain content, including child sexual abuse material and terrorism promotion, outside that freedom.
