In a recent development, X Corp, previously known as Twitter, has threatened to sue the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a British research nonprofit. The social media giant alleges that the CCDH has made "inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading assertions" about the company, suggesting a conspiracy to drive advertisers away from the platform.
The legal threat follows a series of research reports published by the CCDH, which scrutinized the spread of hate speech on the platform since its acquisition by Elon Musk. One report found that X Corp failed to act on 99% of hate speech posted by subscribers of Twitter Blue, the platform's premium service. Other research indicated that the company did not take action against a significant portion of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate speech on the platform.
X Corp's legal threat is one of several recent actions taken by the company, which has also targeted tech giant Microsoft and social media conglomerate Meta. The company alleges that these entities have misused Twitter data and infringed on its intellectual property rights.
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the CCDH, has criticized Musk's attempts to "silence honest criticism and independent research." Ahmed stated that advertisers are leaving the platform due to Musk's perceived support for the proliferation of hate and racism, and his apparent indifference to stopping it.
The legal threat from X Corp is seen as a move to protect its advertising revenue, which has reportedly dropped by nearly 50% since Musk's takeover. However, the company's actions have also drawn attention to the CCDH's research, potentially counteracting its intended effect.
The CCDH has rejected X Corp's claims, with its lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, stating that the allegations "represent a disturbing effort to intimidate those who have the courage to advocate against incitement, hate speech, and harmful content online."
As of now, it remains to be seen how this legal threat will impact X Corp's reputation, its relationship with advertisers, and the ongoing conversation about hate speech on social media platforms.
