ELON MUSK SUES NON-PROFIT HIGHLIGHTING SITE'S ALLEGED HATE SPEECH
Elon Musk files a lawsuit against the non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate due to violating X’s terms of conditions.
“Recently Brandwatch made X aware that CCDH gained access to X’s data without Brandwatch’s authorization, and that the purported CCDH “research” cited in a Bloomberg article “contained metrics used out of context to make unsubstantiated assertions about X (formerly Twitter),” the company wrote in a blog post. “Additionally, the CCDH has recently scraped X’s platform, which is a violation of our terms of service.”
According to the lawsuit, X is seeking a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages and wants to block the non-profit and any of its backers or employees from accessing data provided by X to the social media listening platform Brandwatch.
A group of researchers, working for the Center, highlighted an increase of alleged hate speech and misinformation coming from X platform. As a result, X company claims losing millions of dollars in advertising revenue. Musk filed late Monday night in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, accusing the Center of collecting a vast amount of data and allegedly claiming in the suit that the organization is funded by foreign governments and media companies who view X as a rival.
With offices in the Washington D.C. and London, this center campaigns for tech firms to stop providing services to individuals who may promote hate and misinformation, including neo-Nazis and anti-vaccine advocates.
In response to legal action, Imran Ahmed, the Center’s Founder and CEO, defended its work and accused Musk of using this lawsuit to silence criticism for his leadership.
“Musk is trying to ‘shoot the messenger’ who highlights the toxic content on his platform rather than deal with the toxic environment he’s created,” Imran Ahmed said. He “shows that hate and disinformation is spreading like wildfire on the platform under Musk’s ownership and this lawsuit is a direct attempt to silence those efforts.
Center’s 2021 tax form shows it took in $1.4 million in revenue. Some donors were the National Philharmonic Trust in the US and the Oak Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust in the U.K.
Spokesman for the group says the Center receives no funding from tech companies and government entities that could be considered competitors as X.
The spokesman criticizes Elon Musk, calling him a self-professed absolutist who has welcome back white supremacists and election deniers on the platform.
Musk previously said, “it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.”
“There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far-right wing and far left-wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society,” he added.
