eSafety Commissioner v Rotondo (No 3)

In the case of eSafety Commissioner v Rotondo (No 3), the Federal Court was called upon to determine the appropriate penalty for Mr. Rotondo's civil contempt, having acknowledged his liability for disobeying court orders under the Online Safety Act 2021. The dispute centred on Mr. Rotondo's posting of intimate images of Australian public figures on his website, MrDeepFakes.com, which were digitally manipulated, or "deepfakes". The Commissioner had issued orders for Mr. Rotondo to remove the images and refrain from posting such content in the future. Mr. Rotondo admitted to the contempt and cooperated with the Commissioner to remove the offending material.

The primary legal issue before the court was the determination of an appropriate penalty for Mr. Rotondo's civil contempt. Factors considered included his admission of guilt, his cooperation in removing the offending material, and the absence of any prior history of contempt. The court noted that while Mr. Rotondo's conduct was in deliberate defiance of the court's orders, his admissions and cooperation had saved time and costs, and helped achieve the purpose of the Act. The court also observed that Mr. Rotondo had not expressed or evinced any remorse, nor did he seek to promote or justify his actions.

The court concluded that Mr. Rotondo's admissions and cooperation were made as soon as reasonably practicable after he was made aware of the contempt application, which warranted some leniency. However, the court emphasised the importance of maintaining the privacy and dignity of the depicted persons. Ultimately, the court imposed fines of $5,000, $10,000, and $10,000 respectively for each of the three charges, and ordered Mr. Rotondo to pay the Commissioner's costs on an indemnity basis.