Elon Musk saw a lawsuit he filed against a nonprofit for calling X out for hate speech get dismissed.
What Happened: The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) published reports documenting the spike in racist, antisemitic and extremist commentary on X, formerly Twitter, ever since Musk bought the platform in 2022.
Musk, who touts himself as a "free speech absolutist,” took offense and sued the group last year. A California judge dismissed the case on Monday, March 25.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer cited the state's anti-Slapp law, which strikes down lawsuits seemingly bent on punishing the exercise of free speech.
"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," Breyer wrote in the ruling.
"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,” Breyer added.
Musk — who last week called the CCDH “a truly evil organization that just wants to destroy the First Amendment under the guise of doing good!" — intends to appeal the decision.
Judge Breyer previously blasted Musk's case as a “vapid” extension of the law.
Musk's attorneys also flubbed on another front, Breyer hinted. Had X filed a defamation lawsuit against the CCDH, citing false and damaging claims, the outcome might be different.
"You didn't bring a defamation claim," Breyer said.
"Now you tell me that, actually, this is even better than a defamation claim. But of course, it's not," he added.
Why It Matters: Since Musk purchased X, advertisers ditched the platform over the perceived spike in hate speech.
Musk clapped back with a series of lawsuits. In addition to the aforementioned case against the CCDH, Musk filed a suit in Texas against the non-profit Media Matters.
Musk’s defiance echoes a Republican sentiment. GOP leaders such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went so far as to sign into law a bill that prohibits social media giants — Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms Inc META; YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL — from flagging or removing posts by their users no matter how false or dangerous.
Meanwhile, Musk’s other litigious efforts haven’t done well lately, either.
Last week, the Biden administration reportedly advised the U.S. Supreme Court not to entertain Musk's appeal against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The agency had previously fined Musk and Tesla $20 million each over a 2018 tweet about securing funding to take the electric vehicle company private.
The SEC is also seeking further information from Musk over the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Musk refused to attend an interview previously scheduled for September. The regulator proceeded to sue him in October.
What’s Next: Musk faces a class action lawsuit from former X employees who say they weren’t paid $500 million in severance following the takeover and subsequent layoffs.
Musk is also suing Microsoft-backed OpenAI, accusing it of putting profit before humanity.
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