{"id":2587,"date":"2023-09-10T12:38:06","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T12:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/elon-musks-x-corp-sues-california-to-undo-content-moderation-law-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-09-10T12:38:06","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T12:38:06","slug":"elon-musks-x-corp-sues-california-to-undo-content-moderation-law-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/elon-musks-x-corp-sues-california-to-undo-content-moderation-law-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk’s X Corp sues California to undo content moderation law | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Elon Musk’s X Corp sued California on Friday over a state law establishing new transparency rules for social media companies, requiring them to publish their policies for policing disinformation, harassment, hate speech and extremism.<\/p>\n

X, the social media platform once known as Twitter, said the law known as\u00a0Assembly Bill 587\u00a0violates its free speech rights under the US\u00a0Constitution’s First Amendment and California’s state constitution.<\/p>\n

In a complaint filed in federal court in Sacramento, California, X said the law’s “true intent” was to pressure social media companies into eliminating content the state found objectionable.<\/p>\n

By doing so, California is forcing companies to adopt the state’s views on politically charged issues, “a form of compelled speech in and of itself,” X said.<\/p>\n

After buying Twitter for $44 billion last October, Musk, a self-described free speech absolutist, laid off many employees responsible for monitoring and regulating content, and restored some accounts that prior management had banned.<\/p>\n

The Anti-Defamation League and the Center for Countering Digital Hate have\u00a0documented increases\u00a0in the volume of hate speech on X\u00a0targeting\u00a0Jews, Black people, gay men and trans people since Musk took over.<\/p>\n

Musk, the\u00a0world’s richest person, also runs the electric car company Tesla\u00a0and space exploration company SpaceX.<\/p>\n

The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, which enforces state laws, said it will respond to the complaint in court.<\/p>\n

AB 587 requires social media companies with at least $100 million of gross annual revenue to issue semiannual reports that describe their content moderation practices, and provide data on the numbers of objectionable posts and how they were addressed.<\/p>\n

The law also requires companies to provide copies of their terms of service. Failure to comply risks civil fines of up to $15,000 per violation per day.<\/p>\n

Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, signed the law\u00a0last September, saying the state would not let social media be “weaponized” to spread hate and disinformation.<\/p>\n

Musk laid off thousands of employees after buying Twitter, and on Monday blamed critics, including the ADL for a 60% decline in US\u00a0advertising revenue.<\/p>\n

In a recent\u00a0interview, A.J. Brown, who resigned in June as X’s head of brand safety and ad quality, said policy changes adopted by Musk that limited the visibility of objectionable posts on X rather than removing them made it difficult to convince advertisers the platform was safe.<\/p>\n

The case is X Corp v Bonta, US\u00a0District Court, Eastern District of California, No. 23-at-00903.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n