A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X that had targeted a watchdog group for its critical reports about hate speech on the social media platform. A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X that had targeted a watchdog group for its critical reports about hate speech on the social media platform., the judge blasted X’s case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights.
X’s lawsuit had accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate of violating the company’s terms of service when it studied, and then wrote about, hate speech on the platform followingin October 2022. X has blamed CCDH’s reports, which showcase the prevalence of hate speech on the platform, for amplifying brand safety concerns and driving advertisers away from the site.
The judge’s ruling Monday also illustrated the limits of Musk’s claim to be a “free-speech absolutist.” “The Court is concerned that X Corp’s desire to amend its breach of contract claim has a dilatory motive — forcing CCDH to spend more time and money defending itself before it can hope to get out from under this potentially ruinous litigation,” he wrote. He added it would be “wrong” to let X amend its suit “when the damages it now alleges, and the damages it would like to allege, are so problematic, and when X Corp.’s motivation is so clear.