11 May 2024

Line between cybercrime and cyberwarfare blurring

Paul Budde

THE DISPUTE BETWEEN the Australian Government and Elon Musk illustrates one of the challenges we face in the age of digital societies, economies and politics. An essential aspect of the digital realm is its global nature, rendering national politics less effective when addressing domestic issues.

However, addressing the digital impact on politics requires international cooperation, which is challenging to develop.

Looking at the issue of the video clip that the Australian Government wants X (formerly Twitter) to remove internationally raises questions about the extent of the Australian Government's authority in such matters. Elon Musk gave in and used geo-blocking to prevent the video from being viewed in Australia. However, the Australian Government wants a global ban.

This is going too far for Musk — the conflict shows the limited powers of a national government concerning global digital conflicts and the consequences of such issues.

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