A federal judge in California dealt Elon Musk a setback when he ruled against his social media company’s effort to stop the state from forcing him to reveal his content moderation policies.
US District Court Judge William Shubb ruled Thursday that the company formerly known as Twitter failed to make its case for a preliminary injunction of a law that was passed last year.
Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist” who paid $4 billion for Twitter with the goal of allowing unfettered content, has been under pressure to crack down on provocative discourse — particularly after advertisers fled X in response to concerns that the platform was allowing rampant antisemitism.
Lawmakers in Sacramento last year passed AB 587, which requires large social media platforms such as X to disclose content moderation rules that govern hate speech, racism, disinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference.
X and other platforms are required by law to provide semiannual reports to the California attorney general detailing how they are combating hate speech online.
“While the reporting requirement does appear to place a substantial compliance burden on social medial companies, it does not appear that the requirement is unjustified or unduly burdensome within the context of First Amendment law,” Shubb, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, wrote in his ruling.
The Post has sought comment from X.
Musk had challenged the new law in September, arguing that it was “difficult to reliably define” what constitutes hate speech and misinformation.
The company said that trying to determine which content is out of bounds is “often fraught with political bias” since there’s no consensus on the issue.
X accused the state of seeking to compel social media companies to “eliminate certain constitutionally-protected content” that politicians may deem “problematic.”
AB 587 was signed into law by the state’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who hailed it as a measure that offered “nation-leading social media transparency.”
Musk severely slashed Twitter’s content moderation team after acquiring the platform and has faced harsh criticism for allowing hate speech to fester on the site.
The site’s content has come under increased scrutiny since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October
The Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish civil rights organization, and others have slammed Musk for tolerating antisemitic messages on the platform.
Several large brands including Disney and IBM stopped advertising on X last month after a report by liberal advocacy group Media Matters said their ads were appearing alongside pro-Nazi content and white nationalist posts.
X has since sued Media Matters, saying the Washington-based nonprofit manufactured the report to “drive advertisers from the platform and destroy X Corp.”
He also lashed out at blue-chip firms that halted spending during a tech and business conference last month, accusing companies such as Disney of engaging in “blackmail.”
“Don’t advertise,” Musk said, adding: “Go f–k yourself.”
He appeared to specifically call out Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger, saying, “Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience … that’s how I feel.”
Musk did apologize for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory in response to a post on X that helped fuel an advertiser exodus.
He also sought to make amends earlier this month when he visited Israel and toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas terrorists.
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