X Corp., the parent company of the platform formerly known as Twitter, has filed a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The lawsuit accuses CCDH of violating X’s terms of service by illegally obtaining data to conduct research on hate speech. X Corp. claims that CCDH convinced a third party to share login credentials to access a secured database, which was then used to retrieve information without authorization.
In addition to alleging the unauthorized access of data, X Corp. blames CCDH for companies pausing their advertising spend on the platform. The lawsuit seeks tens of millions of dollars in lost ad revenue and a court order blocking CCDH and unnamed partners from accessing licensed material provided by X Corp.
The lawsuit comes after CCDH released a research report that criticized X Corp.’s handling of hate speech on the platform. The report claimed that X Corp. fails to take action on 99% of hate posted by Twitter Blue subscribers and accused the company of algorithmically boosting toxic tweets. Musk, along with companies that continue to advertise on X, was blamed for the rise in hate speech on the platform.
CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed responded to the lawsuit, accusing Musk of trying to silence any criticism of his decisions and actions. Ahmed stated that the research conducted by CCDH shows hate and disinformation spreading on the platform under Musk’s ownership, and the lawsuit is an attempt to silence those efforts.
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X Corp. argues that CCDH engaged in unlawful acts to obtain the data used in their research. The company claims that CCDH gained unauthorized access to data sets provided to Brandwatch, a company that sells products for brand monitoring on social media. X Corp.’s lawyers argue that CCDH was never authorized to have secure login credentials to access the data sets and used the data out of context to make unsubstantiated assertions about hate speech on the platform.
The lawsuit also accuses CCDH of violating X Corp.’s terms of service by scraping data off the platform and suggests that the organization is being funded by X Corp.’s competitors, legacy media corporations, and government entities. However, there is no evidence provided to support these claims.
Notably, the lawsuit does not claim a violation of the Lanham Act, a federal trademark law that allows companies to sue for false statements. In a letter sent to CCDH prior to the lawsuit, X Corp.’s lawyer accused the organization of violating the law by making false and misleading statements.
CCDH is a nonprofit organization that conducts research on hate speech, misinformation, and other misconduct on social media platforms. The organization has published articles criticizing various platforms, including TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube, for their handling of harmful content. CCDH denies accepting funds from competitors to Twitter or government entities.
Overall, the lawsuit filed by X Corp. against CCDH raises questions about the limits of data access and research on social media platforms. It also highlights the ongoing debate surrounding hate speech and content moderation on these platforms.
