Elon Musk's X Wins Appeal Against California's Social Media Law

Elon Musk's social media platform, X, won an appeal partially blocking a California law that mandates social media companies to disclose their disinformation and harassment policies. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the law overly extensive. The lower court must reassess the law's content moderation provisions.

Elon Musk's social media platform, X, achieved a significant legal victory on Wednesday, with an appeal partially blocking a California law requiring social media companies to publish their policies on disinformation, harassment, hate speech, and extremism. The ruling came from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, overturning a previous decision by a lower court judge who had declined to pause the law's enforcement.

According to the law, significant social media companies must issue public reports describing their content moderation practices and provide data on objectionable posts and their resolutions. Musk argued last year that the law violated free speech protections under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, prompting the lawsuit. Neither X nor the California attorney general's office immediately responded to requests for comment on the ruling.

X's case forms part of multiple legal challenges questioning the extent of state authority in regulating social media. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed lower courts to reassess similar laws in Texas and Florida. In X's lawsuit, U.S. District Judge William Shubb had previously refused to block the California law, stating it wasn't unjustified or overly burdensome within First Amendment contexts. However, the appeals court disagreed, ruling that the law's stipulations were more extensive than necessary. The lower court must now review whether the content moderation part can be separated from other sections of the law.

(With inputs from agencies.)