The lawsuit, filed Monday night in California’s Northern District Court, accuses the non-governmental organization Center for Countering Digital Hate of violating X’s terms of service by improperly collecting large amounts of data for analysis. . The complaint also alleges, without offering evidence, that the group is funded by foreign governments and media outlets that view X as a competitor.
The legal battle between the tech company, which was acquired by Elon Musk last year, and the organization could have major implications for a growing number of researchers and activist groups seeking to help people understand how social media is shaping their lives. society and culture.
With offices in the United States and Great Britain, the center regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism and harmful behavior on social platforms such as X, TikTok or Facebook. The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing the rise in hate speech against the LGBTQ community, as well as climate misinformation since it acquired the company.
In its lawsuit, X alleges that the group violated its terms of service by automatically pulling large amounts of data from the site without the company’s permission. In addition, it alleges that the center inappropriately accessed Twitter’s internal data using credentials it obtained from an employee at another company that does business with X.
Without identifying any individuals or companies, the lawsuit says the center receives funding from foreign governments as well as organizations linked to “mainstream media” that view X as a rival.
The organization’s work has cost X tens of millions of dollars in lost advertising revenue, the lawsuit said.
In response to this legal action, Imran Ahmed, the group’s founder and CEO, defended his work and accused Musk of using the complaint to silence criticism of his leadership, as well as the investigation into the role X plays in the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
“Musk is trying to ‘shoot the messenger’ who reports toxic content on his platform instead of dealing with the toxic environment he has created,” Ahmed said.
A spokesperson for the group pointed out that the Center does not receive funding from any government entity or technology company that could be considered a competition of X.
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Associated Press writer Thalia Beatty contributed to this report.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
