A lawsuit initiated by Elon Musk’s company, X, against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) was dismissed by US Judge Charles Breyer. The suit accused the CCDH, a non-profit organization, of unlawfully accessing X’s data to carry out research, which they then used to make allegations of increased “hate speech” and “misinformation” on the social media platform.
We obtained a copy of the order for you here.
X also claimed that the CCDH selectively used data from the platform to create a “scare campaign,” driving away advertisers and causing significant financial losses.
But the judge interpreted the lawsuit against the pro-censorship group as an attempt by X to silence the organization.
Due to California’s anti-SLAPP law that prevents lawsuits aiming to stifle free speech, a federal judge on Monday overruled the case lodged by tech tycoon Elon Musk against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a group that tracks the escalation of hate content on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, following Musk’s takeover.
“Sometimes it is unclear what is driving a litigation, and only by reading between the lines of a complaint can one attempt to surmise a plaintiff’s true purpose,” wrote Judge Breyer. “Other times, a complaint is so unabashedly and vociferously about one thing that there can be no mistaking that purpose. This case represents the latter circumstance. This case is about punishing the defendants for their speech.”
The legal setback for Musk didn’t come as a shocker, considering Breyer’s stark critique of Musk’s case during the hearing last month.
Breyer queried the plaintiff’s lawyers on the reason why they failed to lodge a defamation lawsuit, seeing as they believed CCDH’s reports were erroneously damaging.
