Billboard Chris Takes on eSafety Commissioner in Free Speech Battle

The American influencer against child gender conversion known as Billboard Chris is preparing to make his way down under.

Roni Bintang/Getty Images

It all started with news a female-to-male trans person had been appointed to a panel of World Health Organisation (WHO) experts.

Questioning the decision and the individual’s credentials, U.S. influencer Chris Elston, known better as Billboard Chris, took to social media platform X.

Elston, who campaigns against child gender conversion by wearing a sandwich board in public spaces, voiced his concerns in a post that was viewed by millions. But soon after, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner intervened, demanding that X remove the post on the grounds that it was harmful content.

In April last year, X owner Elon Musk threatened legal action against eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, accusing the government of overreach. Now,  Elston, the man behind the post at the centre of the furore, is coming to Australia to fight for what he says is a battle over free speech—alongside Musk’s case against the independent government body.

Elston Challenges Government’s Online Censorship Powers

Announcing his upcoming arrival in Australia on X, Elston said he was pushing back against government-enforced censorship.

“(Australia’s) eSafety Commissioner ordered to take down one of my posts about a year ago, where I criticised the appointment of Teddy Cook to a panel of experts at the WHO responsible for drafting healthcare policy for trans-identified children and adults,” Elston wrote.

“Teddy Cook is a woman who identifies as a man. She is not a healthcare professional. She is an activist who posts bestiality and nudity, says trans-identified people have better sex when they are high on illicit drugs, and wants government-funded childhood sex changes.

“I called her a woman, because she is, but the Australian government didn’t like that. They are also upset that I highlighted how people with psychiatric disorders are writing healthcare policy for people with the same psychiatric disorders.”

The Streisand Effect

Elston said his original post ended up invoking the Streisand Effect—a term used to describe the unintended consequence of something becoming more widely known, the more someone attempts to hide it.

The term was originally coined after Barbara Streisand attempted to suppress an aerial photo of her home, only for the location to become more well-known through attempts to hide its location.

“The eSafety Commissioner, evidently unaware of the Streisand Effect, ordered my post taken down,” Elston said.

“X refused to take it down and forwarded me the government’s take-down notice.

“I obviously immediately posted the take-down notice and retweeted the original tweet, which I had forgotten about, but which has now been seen millions of times, and is the subject of a five-day hearing before a federal judge.”

Elston said he was confident facing the outcome of the review with the Australian government entity.

“Our appeals (Elston’s and Musk’s) will be heard at the same time. I have excellent lawyers, funded by ADF International, and X has their own lawyers,” he said.

Before the Melbourne trial, Elston will take his campaign to the streets of Brisbane, Sydney, and Canberra, speaking at public events.

“Hopefully we can set a precedent for Australians to tell the basic truth that a woman is a woman, and a man is a man, without censorious government interference,” he said.

An eSafety spokesperson said it was not possible to comment on matters which were under review.

“The post appears to relate to a matter before the Administrative Review Tribunal, which commenced in May 2024,” they told The Epoch Times.

“As the matter is ongoing, we are unable to provide any further comment.”

Cook was also contacted for comment but did not respond before publication.