X Wins Motion To Dismiss German Judge

Social media platform X has won a motion to dismiss a judge in a German court case brought by two activist groups seeking to access real-time election information.

The case follows a move by a regional court in Berlin earlier this month granting a motion by two civil activist groups to force X, formerly Twitter, to share real-time access to data on elections that took place on Sunday until two days after the vote.

The groups said they needed access to the data to track misinformation and influence campaigns.

Election data

X appealed the decision and filed a motion to remove a judge it argued had “positively engaged” with social media content from the plaintiffs, Democracy Reporting International and the Society for Civil Rights.

The groups argued X had a legal duty to provide researchers with access to easily searchable information such as the reach of posts, shares and likes.

A hearing on the preliminary injunction is to take place on Thursday, 27 February, with the two remaining judges, and a decision is expected later that day, according to local media reports.

The delay meant the groups would not have access to the information within the time frame they said was critical, but the legal outcome could provide a precedent for future cases.

X said separately last week it would sue the German government in state and federal courts, saying Germany had the EU’s most frequent requests for user data.

“X believes that these legal demands for user data are unlawful and has taken cases in both German federal and state courts challenging the lawfulness of the government’s overreach into our users’ privacy and freedom of expression,” the company said on social media.

X owner Elon Musk has criticised incumbent German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Political bias

Research carried out by Global Witness found that recommendation algorithms operated by TikTok and X showed evidence of far-right political bias ahead of the German elections.

The research found both platforms were heavily favouring the AfD party and general right-leaning content.

Musk last week criticised the chief judge of Romania’s top court for the decision to cancel a final round of elections in the country last December, after Romanian intelligence officials found evidence of an election influence campaign allegedly organised on TikTok with the backing of the Russian government.

The European Commission is investigating the alleged interference campaign in Romania, where a previously little-known far-right candidate won the most votes in the election’s first round in November.