X loses Bid to amend the California Content Moderation Law

On Thursday, Elon Musk’s X lost a bid to modify a California law requiring social media companies to disclose content moderation.

X filed a lawsuit in September against the state of California, claiming that the content moderation statute violated free expression rights guaranteed by both the state constitution and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

In an eight-page order issued today, U.S. District Judge William Shubb denied the social networking company’s request.

The regulation mandates significant social media businesses to provide semi-annual reports outlining their content control processes. They must also submit information on the quantity of inappropriate posts and the way they were dealt with.

According to Shubb, the reporting requirement does not appear to be unjustified or unduly burdensome in the overall framework of First Amendment law, even though it may seem to impose a substantial compliance burden upon social media companies.

X didn’t respond right away. The company’s moderation rules have long been a source of contention, dating back to before Musk purchased the company.