The eSafety Commission has launched legal action against the owners of social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, for breaching online safety rules designed to protect children.

The commission filed paperwork on Thursday in the Federal Court over X Corp’s alleged failure to comply with a transparency notice that was issued against the social media platform in February.

The transparency notice required X Corp to provide information about how the platform was meeting online safety standards to in regards to child sexual exploitation and abuse material.

The eSafety Commission has alleged X Corp failed to respond truthfully or accurately to questions provided to the social media platform about online safety standards.

A fine was issued for $610,500 in September for X Corp failing to comply with the notice but has not been paid.

X Corp has previously requested a judicial review of the commission’s reliance on the transparency notice.

The commission said it hoped the judicial review would be carried out at the same time as the civil penalty to avoid legal delays with either case.

By Andrew Brown in Canberra