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Exposing gender ideology should NOT get you censored! Help ensure that Australian authorities can’t censor free speech on X

victory
Exposing gender ideology should NOT get you censored! Help ensure that Australian authorities can’t censor free speech on X
petition author imageADF International - started this petition to The Hon Anika Wells MP, Minister for Communications - 2025/03/25

Campaign Victory – 25 March 2025


The Tribunal ruled in favour of Chris “Billboard Chris” Elston, striking down a government order that sought to censor one of his posts on X (formerly Twitter) under the country’s controversial Online Safety Act.


Elston’s post, shared in February 2024, criticised the appointment of transgender activist Teddy Cook to a World Health Organization "expert" panel and referred to Cook using biologically accurate language.


Australia's eSafety Commissioner deemed the post "cyber abuse" and ordered its removal. While X initially refused, it later geo-blocked the content in Australia under threat of severe financial penalties.


Both Elston and X challenged the decision, arguing it represented a clear violation of the fundamental right to free speech. The legal challenge was coordinated by ADF International in partnership with the Human Rights Law Alliance in Australia. A week-long hearing before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal commenced on 31 March 2025.


In a resounding judgment, the Tribunal found that the eSafety Commissioner had made the wrong decision and officially set aside the takedown order. The ruling confirmed that Elston’s post did not meet the legal threshold of "cyber abuse" and did not warrant censorship.


Responding to the victory, Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, said: "This is a decisive win for free speech and sets an important precedent in the growing global debate over online censorship.


"In this case, the Australian government alarmingly censored the peaceful expression of a Canadian citizen on an American-owned platform—evidence of the expansive reach of censorial forces, even beyond national borders. Today, free speech has prevailed."


The decision comes at a time of heightened international scrutiny of Australia’s broad censorship regime. In May, even the U.S. State Department condemned the eSafety Commissioner’s actions as part of a disturbing global trend toward authoritarian speech control.


Reacting to the decision, Chris Elston said:


"I'm grateful that truth and common sense have prevailed. This decision sends a clear message that the government does not have the authority to silence peaceful expression. My mission is to speak the truth about gender ideology, protecting children across the world from its dangers. With this ruling, the court has upheld my right to voice my convictions—a right that belongs to every one of us."


This ruling marks a key moment in the international fightback against digital censorship and affirms the right to speak biological truth in the public square.


Despite this win, Australia’s Communications Minister and the federal government failed to take action to curb the eSafety Commissioner’s overreach. For that reason, our campaign to rein in her powers and protect free speech in Australia will continue.


More information:

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Campaign update – 23 June 2025


In a victory for free speech, Canadian activist Chris Elston has successfully overturned a fine issued by Brisbane City Council after he was forcibly removed from Queen Street Mall in March for peacefully expressing his views.


Known as Billboard Chris, Elston was fined $806 and threatened with jail for standing in a pedestrian zone wearing a sign that read: "Children cannot consent to puberty blockers." Attempting to shut down Chris' peaceful demonstration, authorities accused Chris of obstructing foot traffic, fined him and ordered him to move.


With legal support from ADF International and the Human Rights Law Alliance, Chris submitted an appeal and video evidence that showed he wasn't obstructing anyone.


Confronted with the truth and mounting public scrutiny, Brisbane Council finally backed down last week, withdrawing the fine and closing the case.


It’s a small but significant victory for free speech, parental rights, and anyone who believes that speaking the biological truth should never be a crime.


But the battle is far from over.


While local officials have admitted defeat on the street, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is still working to erase Chris's voice from the internet.


If the Commissioner’s censorship powers are upheld, it will embolden other governments to silence lawful speech across borders, including here in the UK.


Please sign the petition and help make sure truth can’t be treated as a crime!


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Original petition explainer text – 25 March 2025

Chris Elston, better known as Billboard Chris, is a Canadian father on a mission.


Equipped with nothing but a sandwich board, he travels the world engaging in vital street advocacy to protect children from gender ideology.


Billboard Chris' message is simple: "Children cannot consent to puberty blockers."


But now, his voice—and the truth—is under attack in Australia.


In March of last year, Australian authorities ordered X (Twitter) to remove one of his online posts. In the post, Billboard Chris had shared a news article published by the Daily Mail, which criticized the appointment of a radical transgender-identifying activist to a World Health Organization panel charged with drafting new “guidelines” on the provision of "gender-affirming care".


Australia's eSafety Commissioner demanded that X remove the post, resulting in the platform 'geo-blocking' the post in Australia.


Billboard Chris is not backed by large corporations or political power. He’s just a dad fighting to protect children from one of the most dangerous ideologies of our time.


Like every one of us, he has the right to peacefully express his beliefs. Yet, Australian authorities have violated his basic right to free speech.


And this isn’t just about Billboard Chris. The result of the eSafety Commissioner’s overreach is to keep Australians in the dark. The people of Australia have the right to uncensored information about the truth of gender ideology and the way it is advanced by activists and institutions.


Governments must not be allowed to hide views they don’t like from their citizens.


Now, a Canadian citizen must travel to Australia to defend his right to speak freely on an American-owned social media platform.


This is a fight for free speech everywhere.


With the support of ADF International and the Human Rights Law Alliance, Billboard Chris is heading to court on March 31st in defence of his basic right to speak freely about the dangers of gender ideology.


Will you stand with Billboard Chris? Will you sign the petition to Australian Minister of Communications, MP Anika Wells, and urgently request that she use her authority to protect free speech in Australia?


The right of the Australian people to speak, read, and hear the truth is under threat. Meanwhile, other countries look on. And we know that censorship begets censorship, and once the state wields its power to silence speech, there is no logical stopping point.


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For more information on this case, please visit: https://adfinternational.org/campaign/support-billboard-chris

32,791 have signed.

Petition to the Honourable Anika Wells MP, Minister for Communications: Defend Free Speech and Reject Global Censorship

Dear Minister,


Freedom of expression is a fundamental right enshrined in both Australian and international law. Yet, this right is being violated through the actions of the eSafety Commissioner, who issues take-down orders to digital platforms, backed by significant fines, on the basis of vague and subjective notions of "harm" and "offense". As Minister, you oversee the policy direction and the overall framework underlying this censorship.


For example, Canadian advocate and father Chris Elston, known as Billboard Chris, goes to Court on 31 March to defend his right to speak freely after one of his posts on X (formerly Twitter) was ordered to be removed. In it, he had shared a link to a news article criticizing the appointment of a transgender-identifying activist to a World Health Organization panel. X geo-blocked the post in Australia as a result.


This action not only undermines Chris’s right to free speech but also raises serious concerns about the overreach of government control over online speech in Australia. Like every one of us, Chris has the right to peacefully share his convictions. True democracy protects all viewpoints, even unpopular ones that might offend some.


Minister, we must ask this: Why was this post censored in a democratic country that claims to uphold free speech? And why is the eSafety Commissioner censoring foreign voices and, in so doing, keeping the people of Australia in the dark about one of the most important issues of our time?


Worryingly, rather than recognizing these issues, we are concerned that you actually support greater digital censorship.


The statutory review that you tabled last month concluded that the Australian Online Safety Act was "world-leading". Rather than underscoring issues with the fundamental right to freedom of expression, the review recommends lowering the threshold for forcing platforms to censor content and reducing the waiting period for issuing these orders.


Your role is crucial in safeguarding the right of every Australian to freely access uncensored content online. You don’t have to agree with what Chris posted to defend his human right to free speech and the right of all Australians to hear diverging views on pressing matters.


We request that you exercise your authority to reform digital policies to protect, rather than suppress, free expression online and to uphold Australia's commitment to free speech under international law.


If Australian authorities can censor a Canadian for posting an article on X, a U.S. platform, then ultimately, no citizen is safe from government overreach. This is a pivotal moment for free speech. A free and open society cannot exist alongside state-imposed digital speech controls.

Please act urgently to protect freedom of speech in Australia – and beyond.