In December, X lost its effort in court to block a California law that seeks to control toxic posts on social media by requiring companies to disclose their content-moderation policies.
Breyer used strong language to side with the center’s argument that X was trying to censor its work.
“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,” the San Francisco judge wrote. “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.”
The nonprofit said in a statement that the ruling “sent a strong message about seeking to censor those who criticize social media companies, which we are confident will resonate throughout Silicon Valley and beyond.”
The case is X Corp, a Nevada Corporation v. Center for Countering Digital Hate, Inc., 23-cv-03836, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
—Bloomberg News