In his case against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), Musk alleged that CCDH illegally scraped data from the platform while assembling reports about the spread of hate speech and misinformation online.
Musk filed the lawsuit amid pressure from civil society groups over his decision to loosen Twitter’s content moderation rules.
Judge Charles Breyer, in a 52-page decision dismissing the case, argued the lawsuit was based around “punishing” CCDH for their speech.
“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. 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,” Breyer wrote.
Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of CCDH, said in a post on X, “This ruling sends a strong message to those who aim at intimidating and silencing independent research.”
The “X News” account posted that the company “disagrees with the court’s decision and plans to appeal.”
CCDH filed to strike X’s claims under California’s law against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP), or lawsuits that serve a purpose of silencing or punishing a defendant to speak out on matters of public interest.
“X Corp.’s motivation in bringing this case is evident,” Bryer wrote.
“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,” he added.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
