The court case challenging an order by the Australian government to revoke the visa of tennis champion, Novak Djokovic, was hijacked as many people from around the globe tried to log in. The broadcast of proceedings was marked by technical glitches and even porn being livestreamed.
Discover our latest podcast
Pornography & Techno Music
The judge hearing the case has since ordered the release of the tennis star, who has been kept in detention awaiting deportation. His entry visa was revoked upon arrival in Melbourne, last week ahead of the Australian Open, over a medical exemption from vaccination.
The court hearing, which started at 10:00 am local time, did not go as planned. The servers crashed several times as scores of people from around the world attempted to log into the livestream. The broadcast resumed around 10:45 only to disappear again by midday.
An old link to broadcast proceedings over Microsoft Teams was compromised with pornographic pictures and techno music.
An alternative livestream set up by Federal Court staff also crashed when more log-in attempts were made.
'Utterly Unacceptable'
On top of all that, some people who managed to access the hearing, posted unauthorized links on YouTube, making it difficult to ascertain if the stream was indeed live.
At one point during the broadcast, a random user could be heard saying, ‘we’re in.’ Presiding judge, Judge Kelly, had to pause to reiterate that only persons who had their microphones on were allowed to make submissions. Frustrated, Judge Kelly said:
That is utterly unacceptable
Although he’s not publicly declared his vaccination status, the Serbian tennis pro is on record to have said:
Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel.
