Australia's eSafety commissioner has been accused of 'threatening' American freedom of speech and ordered to answer to US Congress by a fervent Trump ally.
Julie Inman-Grant was sent a letter by the Committee on the Judiciary of the US House of Representatives, demanding answers about her Online Safety Act.
The letter, seen by Sky News Australia, was written by committee chair and Republican congressman Jim Jordan.
'(The) expansive interpretation and enforcement of Australia's (Online Safety Act)... directly threatens American speech,' he wrote on Tuesday, local time.
Ms Inman-Grant was called a 'noted zealot for global takedowns' by Jordan, referencing what he claims was an attempt by her to remove X content globally.
He also described her as 'working with US-based organisations and universities to facilitate and encourage co-operation with foreign censorship regimes'.
The aim of Jordan's inquiry is to understand laws, like the Online Safety Act, to 'develop effective legislation... to ensure that foreign laws cannot silence Americans in the United States or severely burden American companies'.
The eSafety commissioner has been summoned to the US for December, two weeks after the letter was issued.
The Daily Mail has contacted Ms Inman-Grant's office for comment on the letter and asked whether she will be going to the US.
While she is not legally required to attend, a spokesperson for the US House of Representatives Committee told Sky News: 'If there is nothing to hide then she should voluntarily appear.'
An eSafety spokesperson has denied the Online Safety Act requires global removal of content, adding that 'geo blocking' - restricting access to online content based on a user's geographical location - is reasonable.
'There's nothing we're doing that prevents American companies from displaying whatever they want to Americans,' they said.
The Albanese government's Online Safety Act 2021 has attempted to make Australia's existing laws for online safety more expansive and much stronger.
Under its changes, young Australians under 16 will be banned from using social media, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and Snapchat from December 10.
The federal government has defended the under-16s social media ban as a way to protect children from harmful content online.
However, critics say the exemptions for gaming and messaging apps leave serious gaps in protection and raise questions about what qualifies as 'social media'.
The eSafety Commissioner does not have the authority to formally designate platforms as age-restricted but it can make recommendations and ask platforms to self-assess according to legislated criteria.