Anti-Trans Activist Wins eSafety Legal Battle After “Menacing” Post About VIC School Teacher
Image: Celine Baumgarten and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant. Credit X/supplied
An anti-trans activist and Sydney-based member of the US-founded group Gays Against Groomers has won a legal fight against the eSafety watchdog, after a post attacking a Melbourne primary school teacher – who had created a queer club for their students – turned into a legal battle.
A Federal Court decision on Wednesday afternoon dismissed an appeal brought by commissioner eSafety commissioner Julie Inman-Grant.
Celine Baumgarten, who campaigns against trans rights on social media and describes herself as an “adult human female” and “patriot”, but is described as a “single mum from Western Sydney” by Sky News, posted a video on X (Twitter) which attacked the Melbourne teacher for facilitating a queer club for students at their primary school and posted the educator’s name and social media handles online. This led to a complaint being lodged with the office of eSafety Commissioner.
Who are Gays Against Groomers?
Gays Against Groomers is a chapter-based organisation from the US, founded by right-wing QAnon conspiracists, which amplifies anti-trans rhetoric and anti-LGBTQ+ stereotypes by falsely claiming that LGBTQIA+ supporters of trans rights are “groomers” and equating gender-affirming health care with pedophilia.
It directs online harassment and intimidation campaigns targeting LGBTQIA+ people and events, including drag shows, hospitals and libraries.
The group has had their social media accounts shut down at various times on most major platforms due to violating hate speech policies and community harassment guidelines, including Meta, TikTok, Google, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Printful and Wix.com.
Post “menacing, harassing or offensive” but doesn’t meet legal bar for “cyber-abuse”
As reported in The Age, the commissioner’s office issued what it considered an informal alert to X, alleging that Baumgarten’s post appeared to be “seeking to intimidate and harass” the teacher and had exposed her to potential harm by posting photos, details of her workplace and links to her social media accounts.
The eSafety office concluded that the post, despite being considered “menacing, harassing or offensive”, did not meet the legal bar to constitute “cyber-abuse material” which could have triggered a legally binding removal notice demand.
Conservative legal fund Free Speech Union joins fight
X responded to the commissioner’s office alert by geo-blocking the post from Australian users of the site, which then prompted an appeal by Baumgarten, with legal support by conservative legal fund the Free Speech Union, to the Administrative Review Tribunal. The Free Speech Union recently brought failed comedy writer and anti-trans campaigner Graham Linehan to Australia on a speaking schedule.
The Federal Court has backed the tribunal’s finding that the commissioner’s office’s complaint to X amounted to a take-down order under section 88 of the eSafety act, and as a result the commissioner’s office must now reconsider its decision to approach X about the complaint or seek further appeals to a higher court.
“eSafety acknowledges the Full Court of the Federal Court’s decision that in the circumstances of this case, eSafety alerting a platform about a potential terms of service breach, was a reviewable action,” an eSafety spokesperson said.
“Platforms often have material that may breach their terms of service drawn to their attention informally by a range of parties, rather than by formal statutory notifications, and it reduces regulatory burden on service providers compared to formal processes.”
Baumgarten has celebrated the decision on X, in between posting about her hatred of Muslim prayer rooms and Welcome To Country acknowledgements.
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