Australia’s eSafety commissioner dropped part of her legal feud with Elon Musk’s X after the billionaire refused a worldwide censorship of a Sydney church stabbing. 

The commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, initially hoped to force Mr. Musk to remove the video for all X users, not just those in Australia, via a federal court ruling. But on Wednesday, she changed her tune, saying she would instead plead her case to Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal to make the in-country ban legally binding. 

“After weighing multiple considerations, including litigation across multiple cases, I have considered this option likely to achieve the most positive outcome for the online safety of all Australians, especially children,” Ms. Grant said Wednesday.

The tribunal, which reviews actions made by eSafety commissioners in Australia, likely wouldn’t have the power to force X to remove the content worldwide but could uphold the content’s ban in that country. 

X praised the commissioner’s decision to drop the worldwide case, saying it was a victory for free speech. 

“This case has raised important questions on how legal powers can be used to threaten global censorship of speech, and we are heartened to see that freedom of speech has prevailed,” the platform posted.

The video in question showed the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in his Sydney church in April. The video caused a firestorm in Australia, and regulators jumped at the chance to block the video there.

ESafety commissioners soon wanted to go further, demanding that X block the video worldwide. While X and Mr. Musk were happy to ban the video in Australia, the platform balked at the suggestion that it should block the video for all users. 

Mr. Musk’s refusal is consistent with his goals at X. Upon taking control of what was then known as Twitter in late 2022, he removed content guardrails and eliminated staff responsible for content moderation.

After visuals on the Oct. 7 Hamas raid on Israel, regulators in Europe called on X to combat violent content on the platform. The EU’s eSafety officers are investigating the company for breaches of the group’s Digital Services Act, which forces platforms to more heavily regulate content.