Judge Dismisses Elon Musk's Hate Speech Lawsuit Against CCDH

(RTTNews) - A federal judge in San Francisco, California has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk and his X Corp. against the Center for Countering Digital Hate or CCDH, a non-profit hate speech research organization.

In a statement, the CCDH said the judge has granted its motion to dismiss and strike all claims in the lawsuit.

Following Musk's acquisition of X, formerly Twitter, in 2022, CCDH had published reports about the rise of racist, antisemitic and extremist content on the social media platform.

Musk and X filed the lawsuit on July 31, 2023 seeking to blame CCDH for tens of millions of dollars in lost advertising revenue after the nonprofit reported on hate speech and misinformation on X. Musk tweeted recently that the "CCDH is a truly evil organization that just wants to destroy the first amendment under the guise of doing good!"

CCDH filed a motion in November to strike X's claims under California's law against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation as well as a motion to dismiss the case in its entirety.

In his ruling, Charles Breyer, United States District Judge of the Northern District of California, denied Musk and X's request to re-plead the case, calling the lawsuit baseless and intimidatory, after CCDH argued that it was a transparent attempt to shut down its free speech.

In his ruling granting CCDH's motion, Breyer said, "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, during a hearing last month, reportedly had described parts of the lawsuit as one of the most vapid extensions of law that he has ever heard. The judge also asked Musk's lawyers then about not filing a defamation lawsuit if it felt that CCDH was making false and damaging claims in its reports.

He further said now, "The Court notes, too, that X Corp.'s motivation in bringing this case is evident. 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… If CCDH's publications were defamatory, that would be one thing, but X Corp. has carefully avoided saying that they are."

Meanwhile, Imran Ahmed, CEO and founder of the CCDH, said the courts have affirmed its fundamental right to research, to speak, to advocate, and to hold accountable social media companies for decisions they make behind closed doors that affect kids, democracy, and fundamental human rights and civil liberties.

Ahmed added that he expects the landmark ruling to embolden public-interest researchers everywhere to continue, and even intensify, their vital work of holding social media companies accountable for the hate and disinformation they host and the harm they cause.

Judge Breyer also granted a motion by Stichting European Climate Foundation to have claims against it dismissed.

Musk is meanwhile facing a number of lawsuits, including a class-action lawsuit from former X employees, alleging that the billionaire fired them following the acquisition without a significant severance pay.