In a dramatic turn of events, a U.S. judge just threw out Elon Musk's lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit that called him out for allowing a spike in hate speech on X, formerly known as Twitter. 😲
Judge Charles Breyer wasn't having it. He stated that it was \"evident\" Musk's X Corp sued CCDH simply because they didn't like the criticism and feared it would hurt X's image and scare off advertisers. Ouch. 💔
\"X Corp. has brought this case in order to punish CCDH for CCDH publications that criticized X Corp. – and perhaps in order to dissuade others who might wish to engage in such criticism,\" Breyer wrote.
X isn't backing down just yet, though. They've announced plans to appeal the decision. 🎢
This ruling is a major setback for Musk, who often brands himself as a free-speech advocate. But since his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October 2022, he's faced heat for cutting down on staff who police misinformation and for allowing more harmful and abusive content on the platform. 🔥
Imran Ahmed, CEO of CCDH, celebrated the decision, saying it affirms their right \"to hold accountable social media companies for decisions they make behind closed doors.\" 🎉
Roberta Kaplan, the nonprofit's lawyer, added that the decision shows Musk \"cannot bend the rule of law to his will.\"
Musk and X have been juggling several other lawsuits, including claims from former Twitter execs over unpaid severance and vendors alleging unpaid bills. Sounds messy! 🧹
Musk's Moves Under Fire
X accused CCDH of breaching its user contract by scraping and cherry-picking data to make Musk look bad, alleging their reports were designed to scare away advertisers and cost X tens of millions of dollars. 💸
X argued that CCDH was bound by Musk's new policies and could've left the platform if they didn't like them. But Judge Breyer didn't buy it. He noted that the nonprofit couldn't have predicted Musk's takeover and the subsequent loosening of content moderation when they signed up back in 2019.
Breyer also dismissed X's claims against the European Climate Foundation, who X accused of conspiring with CCDH. 🌍
Meanwhile, Musk's own tweets have stirred controversy. In November 2023, he reportedly endorsed an antisemitic post claiming members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people, saying the user spoke \"the actual truth.\" Musk has denied being antisemitic and tried to make amends, including a visit to Auschwitz in January. ✡️
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
