FILE - Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., introduces the Model X car at the company's headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Fremont, Calif. Musk may want to send “tweet” back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay, at least for now. For one, the word is still plastered all over the website formerly known as Twitter. Write a post, you still need to press a blue button that says “tweet” to publish it. To repost it, you still tap “retweet.” (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
FILE - Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., introduces the Model X car at the company's headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Fremont, Calif. Musk may want to send “tweet” back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay, at least for now. For one, the word is still plastered all over the website formerly known as Twitter. Write a post, you still need to press a blue button that says “tweet” to publish it. To repost it, you still tap “retweet.” (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has sued a group of researchers — alleging their work highlighting an increase in hate speech on the platform cost the company millions of dollars of advertising revenue.
The suit, filed late Monday night in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, accuses the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate of violating X's terms of service by improperly collecting a vast amount of data for its analysis. The suit also alleges, without offering evidence, that the organization is funded by foreign governments and media companies who view X as competition.
The legal fight between the tech company, which was acquired by last year, and the center could have significant implications for a growing number of researchers and advocacy groups that seek to help the public understand how social media is shaping society and culture.
With offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom, the center regularly publishes reports on , extremism and harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, or Facebook. The organization has published , detailing an increase in as well as since his purchase.
In its lawsuit, X alleges the center violated its terms of service by automatically scraping large amounts of data from the site without the company's permission. X also claims the center improperly accessed internal Twitter data, using log-on credentials it obtained from an employee at a separate company that has a business relationship with X.
Without naming any individuals or companies, the suit says the center receives funding from foreign governments as well as organizations with ties to “legacy media organizations” that see X as a rival.
The suit claims the center's work has cost X tens of millions of dollars in lost ad revenue.
In response to the legal action, Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, defended its work and accused Musk of using the lawsuit to silence criticism of his leadership, as well as research into the role X plays in spreading misinformation and hate speech.
“Musk is trying to ‘shoot the messenger’ who highlights the toxic content on his platform rather than deal with the toxic environment he’s created," Ahmed said.
The center’s 2021 tax forms show it took in $1.4 million in revenue. A review of major donors shows several large charities, including the ɫtv Philanthropic Trust in the U.S. and the Oak Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust in the U.K.
A spokesman for the group said the center receives no funding from any government entities or tech companies that could be considered competitors to X. The identities of other donors is not revealed in public documents, and the center declined to provide a list.
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back and to the platform, which he last month. He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn’t illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” .
Nevertheless, the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies. Last year, he who covered his takeover of Twitter.
__
Associated Press writer Thalia Beatty contributed to this report.
