“X Corp.’s motivation in bringing this case is evident,” U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said. “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.”
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which Musk had earlier accused of embarking “on a scare campaign to drive away advertisers” from Twitter.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer discarded Musk’s claims, finding them invalid under California’s anti-SLAPP statute—a state law that prohibits frivolous litigation intended to curtail or punish the exercise of free speech.
“Sometimes it is unclear what is driving litigation, and only by reading between the lines of a complaint can one attempt to surmise a plaintiff’s true purpose,” Breyer wrote in his decision. “Other times, a complaint is so unabashedly and vociferously about one thing that there can be no mistaking that purpose.”
“This case,” Breyer wrote, “represents the latter circumstance. This case is about punishing the defendant for their speech.”
The dismissal, notes The Guardian, is not unexpected.
During a February hearing, for instance, Breyer publicly characterized elements of Musk’s complaint as among the “most vapid extensions of law that I’ve ever heard.”
“X Corp.’s motivation in bringing this case is evident,” Breyer said. “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.”
“Although X Corp. accuses CCDH of trying ‘to censor viewpoints that CCDH disagrees with,’ it is X Corp. that demands ‘at least tens of millions of dollars’ in damages—presumably enough to torpedo the operations of a small nonprofit—because of the views expressed in the nonprofit’s publications,” he wrote.
Breyer also repeatedly asked the billionaire’s legal team why they had not chosen to file a defamation lawsuit if they felt that the Center for Countering Digital Hate was spreading false and damaging misinformation about “X,” the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“You didn’t bring a defamation claim,” Breyer said. “Now you tell me that, actually, this is even better than a defamation claim. But, of course, it’s not.”
Roberta Kaplan, an attorney for the Center for Countering Digital Hate, has already cast the ruling as a victory for her clients.
“Today’s decision proves that even the world’s wealthiest man cannot bend the rule of law to his will,” Kaplan said. “We are grateful for the district court’s careful and comprehensive opinion, which refuses to allow Elon Musk and X Corp to weaponize the courts to censor good-faith research and reporting.”
As LegalReader.com has reported before, Musk and X filed claims against the Center for Countering Digital Hate last year. In court filings, the plaintiffs alleged that the CCDH had “intentionally and unlawfully accessed data” when determining that Twitter was applying unusually lenient moderation policies to previously-suspended accounts operated by white supremacists and far-right organizations.
“Musk’s & X Corp’s strategy is to keep this case in court for as long as possible to burden us with spiraling legal costs,” CCDH posted on X shortly before the hearing. “This is a clear case of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (Slapp) aimed to scare us away from doing research on X.”
A spokesperson for the Center for Countering Digital Hate said that the nonprofit plans to seek reimbursement of its legal fees from X.
“Because CCDH prevailed on its anti-SLAPP motion, X Corp. is indeed on the hook for CCDH’s legal fees under the anti-SLAPP statute,” the organization told NBC News. “The specific amount of fees will need to be hashed out in court, and CCDH plans to initiate that process as soon as possible.”
Sources
As Twitter’s Ad Business Erodes, Elon Musk’s X Corp. Sues Nonprofit That Tracks Hate Speech
Judge dismisses ‘vapid’ Elon Musk lawsuit against group that cataloged racist content on X
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Musk tried to ‘punish’ critics, judge rules, in tossing a lawsuit
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