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Elon Musk's July 2023 lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) was dismissed by a judge on March 25, ruling that the suit was an attempt to silence X's critics.
The 52-page ruling by U.S District Judge Charles R. Breyer stated:
"X Corp's motivation in bringing this case is evident. X Corp has brought this case in order to punish CCDH or CCDH publications that criticized X Corp. - and perhaps in order to dissuade others who might wish to engage in such criticism.
Musk's lawsuit came after CCDH published a report documenting the increase in hate speech in X since it was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022.
Exploring Elon Musk's lawsuit against CCDH
Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against CCDH, alleging that the research group gained improper access to the media platform after it published a report on an increase in hate speech observed on the platform after Musk's takeover in 2022.
The Tesla owner purchased the platform in 2022 for $44 Billion.
Elon Musk also claimed that CCDH's hate speech report influenced advertisers to spend less money on the site, resulting in a loss of tens of millions of dollars in revenue for X. The lawsuit also accused the research group and it's British affiliate for being "activist organizations masquerading as research agencies" and claimed that CCDH was "advocating for censorship on the internet."
CCDH's report also alleged that Elon Musk reinstated previously suspended accounts of "white supremacists, neo-Nazis, misogynists, and dangerous conspiracy theories spreaders." In its February 2023, report titled, "Toxic Twitter" it cited 10 extremist accounts whose bans were lifted after Musk gained ownership.
The accounts were accused of generating billions of views with their controversial tweets and bringing in millions in ad revenue. CCDH also claimed that Musk was profiting of hate speech.
During a hearing on the suit last month, U.S Judge Breyer, while addressing Musk's lawyers, noted:
"You didn't bring a defamation claim."
CCDH's CEO, while reacting to the ruling, told Washington Post:
"It is quite clear that this was an unconstitutional attempt to shut down the free speech of critics of Elon Musk, by Elon Musk, a self-proclaimed 'free-speech absolutist.' It is an enormous relief to the team at CCDH that we now can continue our mission to hold these companies accountable."
The case against the research group was dismissed in accordance of the state's anti-Slapp law, a law forbidding lawsuits intending to punish the exercise of free speech.
