Elon Musk failed to block recent legislation via his company X-Corp (Twitter) as a federal judge in California upheld a state law requiring transparency in content moderation. US District Judge William Shubb dismissed X’s lawsuit challenging the law, which mandates that significant social media platforms disclose their policies on managing hate speech, misinformation, and other objectionable content. Critically, the ruling emphasized that the law’s requirements, though potentially burdensome, do not unjustifiably infringe on First Amendment rights.
X, which Musk acquired in 2022, has faced mounting scrutiny over its content moderation practices, and Musk himself has become increasingly combative on the issue. Since his takeover, the platform has experienced a notable decline in advertising revenue and a surge in controversial content, attributed to policy changes under his leadership. Major advertisers, including Apple, Disney, and CBS, have paused or stopped their spending on the site, impacting its financial stability.
The company’s legal challenges extend beyond the US, with the European Union investigating X for potential violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA), particularly in relation to content following Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel.
Musk has famously said that he would sooner go to prison than comply with U.S. government censorship, however, his stance as a free speech absolutist is becoming increasingly untenable in the current social media climate; while he has been quick to acquiesce to requests for foreign censorship this California case brings this personal conflict to the foreground and to the homefront.
