'Ridiculous' US lawsuit by Musk's X Corp should be dismissed -hate
speech watchdog
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[November 18, 2023] By
Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - A nonprofit that monitors online hate speech urged a U.S.
federal judge to throw out what it called a "ridiculous" lawsuit by Elon
Musk's X Corp to stifle free expression.
X, formerly Twitter, sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate in
July, accusing it of trying to drive advertisers away through a "scare
campaign" showing hate speech and other harmful content appeared to be
overwhelming the platform.
According to the complaint, X lost tens of millions of dollars of ad
revenue from "false and misleading" research reports that the center
issued to create an "ideological echo chamber" for its preferred views.
This week, Musk, the world's richest person, sparked an outcry after
endorsing as "the actual truth" an antisemitic post on X that falsely
accused Jews of hating white people.
In a Thursday night filing in San Francisco federal court, the Center
for Countering Digital Hate said X made up claims about how it gathered
data from the platform, with each theory "flimsier and more absurd than
the last."
The nonprofit also called the "ridiculous" and "baseless" lawsuit an
attempt to silence others who say things X may not like. It also denied
X's claim that commercial rivals and perhaps even foreign governments
were funding its activities.
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"X Corp's grievance is not that the CCDH defendants gathered public data
in violation of obscure (and largely imagined) contract terms, but that
they criticized X Corp (forcefully) to the public," the nonprofit said.
"Fortunately, state and federal free speech protections cannot be so
easily evaded."
A lawyer for X did not immediately respond on Friday to requests for
comment.
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![](../images/111823PIX/busine58.jpg)
Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of
X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference
dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles
exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo
Fuentes/File Photo
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Since buying Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, Musk has faced
much criticism for firing too many people who policed misinformation
on the platform, and for allowing more harmful and abusive posts.
On Thursday, IBM suspended advertising on X after a report found its
ads were appearing alongside content promoting Adolf Hitler and
Nazis.
Musk is also chief executive of electric vehicle maker Tesla, which
has faced several lawsuits claiming it tolerated harassment of
workers.
In September, X sued California to block the state from enforcing a
law requiring that social media companies publish policies for
policing misinformation, harassment, hate speech and extremism.
X said the law, Assembly Bill 587, violates its free speech rights.
A federal judge will begin reviewing whether to enjoin the law in
late November.
The case is X Corp v. Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc et al,
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 23-03836.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David
Gregorio)
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