(Reuters) – Elon Musk’s X appealed the dismissal of its lawsuit against the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate, which faulted him for letting hate speech spread on the social media platform once known as Twitter.
X filed a notice of appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco dismissed X’s case on March 25, calling it “evident” that X sued CCDH to silence critics and punish them for their speech.
Though Musk has long styled himself as a free-speech champion, X said CCDH’s research was scaring advertisers away, costing it tens of millions of dollars in revenue.
Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022. He is the world’s third-richest person according to Forbes magazine, and also runs the electric car maker Tesla. The appeal could take several months or longer.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
