X Corp., the parent company of the platform formerly known as Twitter, has recently filed a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit organization that conducts research on hate speech on social media platforms. The company accuses CCDH of violating X’s terms of service and illegally obtaining data for its research.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, claims that CCDH convinced an unknown third party to improperly share login credentials to a secured database, which CCDH accessed and retrieved information from without authorization. X argues that this unauthorized access and use of data violates the company’s terms of service and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
In addition to the alleged data breach, X faults CCDH for the pause in advertising spend on the platform by various companies. The company seeks tens of millions of dollars in lost ad revenue and a court order to block CCDH and unnamed partners from accessing licensed material provided by X, citing breach of contract and intentional interference with contractual relations.
The lawsuit comes after CCDH released research findings last month, which claimed that X fails to act on 99% of hate posted by Twitter Blue subscribers. The organization accused X of allowing users to break its rules without consequences and even algorithmically boosting their toxic tweets. CCDH also blamed Elon Musk and companies that continue to advertise on X for the alleged rise in hate speech on the platform.
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In response to the lawsuit, CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed accused Musk of trying to silence critics and defended the organization’s research efforts. Ahmed stated that hate and disinformation are spreading on the platform under Musk’s ownership and that the lawsuit is an attempt to suppress CCDH’s work in combatting hate speech and dangerous content.
X’s lawsuit focuses on CCDH’s alleged unlawful acts to secure the data, rather than addressing the research’s claims of bias and flawed findings. The company claims that CCDH gained unauthorized access to data sets provided by X to Brandwatch, a company that offers brand monitoring products. X argues that CCDH violated its terms of service by scraping data from the platform. The lawsuit also suggests that CCDH is funded by X’s competitors, legacy media corporations, and government entities, although no evidence is provided to support this claim.
It is worth noting that 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, X’s lawyer accused the organization of violating this law through false and misleading statements.
CCDH is known for its research on hate speech, misinformation, and misconduct on social media platforms. The organization has published critical articles on various issues, including TikTok promoting content that promotes eating disorders, Twitter generating ad revenue through banned accounts, and YouTube profiting from climate change denial videos. CCDH has denied accepting funding from competitors of X or government entities.
In conclusion, X Corp. has filed a lawsuit against CCDH, alleging illegal data access and breach of contract. The lawsuit comes as a response to CCDH’s research findings on hate speech on the platform formerly known as Twitter. CCDH has defended its research efforts and accused X of attempting to silence criticism.
