The US has accused Australia’s online safety chief of censoring freedom of speech.

Julie Inman-Grant, Australia’s eSafety commissioner, allegedly “colluded” with a powerful group of advertisers who worked to “silence” free expression on X, a House committee report has claimed.

Ms Inman-Grant is said to have “relied on” the group to inform her “engagement [with X] and regulatory decisions” after the company was bought by Elon Musk in 2022, according to the report.

The House judiciary committee claims she went on to launch an “aggressive regulatory campaign” against the social media platform, including ordering the site to block content from X users around the world.

In one instance, her office blocked the posts of a Canadian gender-critical activist who sued the Australian government over the decision.

Chris Elston, a campaigner known as Billboard Chris, was last year ordered by the Australian government to take down a post on X about a transgender activist who landed a job as a UN health expert.