Elon Musk’s lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) was dismissed by a federal judge, who ruled in favor of the nonprofit organization that researches online hate. The lawsuit, filed by Musk and X, alleged that the CCDH spread misleading claims and caused financial damages to X due to its reports on hate and extremism. Musk also accused the CCDH of illegal data scraping and breaking platform rules by using a social media monitoring tool called Brandwatch.
The CCDH filed a motion to dismiss X’s claims under California’s law against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) and successfully had the lawsuit dismissed by Judge Charles R. Breyer. The judge noted that the purpose of the lawsuit was to punish the CCDH for criticizing X and discourage others from doing the same.
Following Musk’s takeover of Twitter, the CCDH reported on hate speech on the platform, including the unbanning of extremists like Andrew Anglin. The nonprofit, formed in 2018, focuses on researching hate speech, extremism, and misinformation on major social networks.
CCDH’s legal victory was celebrated by CEO Imran Ahmed as a win for research, advocacy, and accountability in social media. The nonprofit’s legal team, including Roberta Kaplan, highlighted the importance of upholding the rule of law in the face of wealthy individuals like Musk.
Despite this setback, Musk is pursuing a similar lawsuit against Media Matters for America in Texas, where there are fewer protections against frivolous lawsuits aimed at stifling free speech.
