{"id":138930,"date":"2023-11-27T10:25:15","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T15:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=press_release&p=138930"},"modified":"2023-11-27T10:25:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T15:25:15","slug":"aclu-and-digital-rights-groups-support-nonprofit-in-lawsuit-over-its-reports-critical-of-content-on-x","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-and-digital-rights-groups-support-nonprofit-in-lawsuit-over-its-reports-critical-of-content-on-x","title":{"rendered":"ACLU and Digital Rights Groups Support Nonprofit in Lawsuit Over Its Reports Critical of Content on X"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-138930","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"","date_and_time":"2023-11-27 10:24:36","featured_image":"","show_on_press_releases_landing_page":true,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Northern California, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that X, formerly known as Twitter, cannot enforce its terms of service to penalize the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Inc. (CCDH) for using automated data collection \u2014 known as scraping \u2014 to inform research criticizing X for allowing what CCDH deemed disinformation to remain on the platform. \r\n\r\nThe brief argues that when a party attempts to use an anti-scraping contract term to bypass the high standard for defamation claims and circumvent public policy protections for speech that contributes to public discourse, a court should decline to enforce the contract term. In this case, a public policy protecting speech in the public interest is reflected in the federal First Amendment, California\u2019s constitutional equivalent provision, and California\u2019s anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) law. Scraping when done in the context of public interest research is part and parcel of the subsequent public interest speech it enables. \r\n\r\nCourts cannot, and should not, allow private companies like X to wield breach of contract claims as a weapon to punish criticism and to secure damages stemming solely from claimed reputational harm resulting from that criticism. \r\n\r\n\u201cAllowing X to hold CCDH liable for breach of contract will create significant dangers for other researchers and journalists seeking to use basic digital tools like scraping to provide the public with insight into the powerful platforms that we all now rely on for information,\u201d said Esha Bhandari, deputy project director of the ACLU\u2019s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project<\/b>. \r\n\r\nIn this case, CCDH allegedly engaged in scraping to inform the public of instances when X failed to remove posts that CCDH deemed dis- and mis-information, despite evidence the content violated X\u2019s content guidelines. \r\n\r\n\u201cCompanies like X Corp. can\u2019t be allowed to use their terms of service to bully and shut down researchers who provide the public with valuable insights into the platforms on which we rely for information and communication,\u201d said Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.<\/b>\r\n\r\nThe speech of research organizations like CCDH, as well as academics and journalists \u2014 in many instances made possible only by scraping \u2014 has shed necessary light on a panoply of concerns that powerful social media platforms have failed to independently monitor and correct, and has provided crucial information for regulators to take enforcement action. Such public interest research serves as a key accountability mechanism to reveal the platforms\u2019 content moderation choices and privacy policies and practices. \r\n\r\n\u201cIf the companies are able to wield terms of service as a cudgel against public-interest research they don\u2019t like, much of the research we need to hold them accountable simply would not happen,\u201d said Ramya Krishnan, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.<\/b>\r\n\r\nThe brief was prepared with the significant contributions of Jake Karr, deputy director of NYU\u2019s Technology Law and Policy Clinic, and law students Rebecca Delaney and Maeve O\u2019Brien."}}],"drupal_node_id":"","email":"media@aclu.org","phone":"(212) 549-2666","address":{"address_1":"125 Broad Street","address_2":"18th Floor","city":"New York","state":"NY","zip_code":10004,"country":"United States"},"pgp_public_key":"","issues":[46479,46551,46354,46759,46641],"press_releases_related_to_cases":"","spokesperson":"","related_affiliates":[325],"related_content_documents":[138932],"related_content_publications":""},"yoast_head":"\nACLU and Digital Rights Groups Support Nonprofit in Lawsuit Over Its Reports Critical of Content on X | American Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-and-digital-rights-groups-support-nonprofit-in-lawsuit-over-its-reports-critical-of-content-on-x\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ACLU and Digital Rights Groups Support Nonprofit in Lawsuit Over Its Reports Critical of Content on X | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-and-digital-rights-groups-support-nonprofit-in-lawsuit-over-its-reports-critical-of-content-on-x\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-and-digital-rights-groups-support-nonprofit-in-lawsuit-over-its-reports-critical-of-content-on-x\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-and-digital-rights-groups-support-nonprofit-in-lawsuit-over-its-reports-critical-of-content-on-x\",\"name\":\"ACLU and Digital Rights Groups Support Nonprofit in Lawsuit Over Its Reports Critical of Content on X | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-27T15:25:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-27T15:25:15+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-and-digital-rights-groups-support-nonprofit-in-lawsuit-over-its-reports-critical-of-content-on-x\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. 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