Researchers win a legal battle against the platform formerly known as Twitter, securing crucial access to social media data to probe potential election interference.

Summary

A German court ruled that Elon Musk’s X must immediately provide researchers with data on politically related content ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 election.

The lawsuit, filed by Democracy Reporting International and the Society for Civil Rights, accused X of blocking efforts to track election interference.

The ruling enforces the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), requiring major platforms to grant researcher access. It also orders X to pay legal costs and imposes a €6,000 procedural fine.

The decision sets a legal precedent, but it remains unclear if X will appeal.

  • wildflower@lemmy.worldEnglish
    80·
    9 hours ago

    €6,000 is peanuts to the worlds richest man, they should shut down access to the site until X comply.

    • ByteJunk@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 hours ago

      You misundertand. Legal fees are not there as punishment, they are only there to prevent poor people for looking for justice.

    • RubberDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      3 hours ago

      A fine does not mean you get to keep doing it. Initially it just proves that tasking 4 people to just get the data would have been cheaper. Now he needs to do that and still task the people.

      Next step is escalating if they do not comply. They did the same in Brazil escalating all the way to turning off Twitter.

      I guess what I’m saying is “patience grasshopper”

    • barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
      3·
      4 hours ago

      Can’t find any proper information anywhere (someone link me the judgement) but that sounds like “you were supposed to file stuff in triplicate now we have to copy shit, here’s a fine” territory.

      Here’s the press release of DRI itself, they don’t even mention it.

    • Stovetop@lemmy.worldEnglish
      36·
      8 hours ago

      Even 1000x that fine would just be a rounding error to him. What gives with the low-ball punishment?

      • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9·
        5 hours ago

        Legal penalties are often (mostly?) a set monetary amount. We need percentage penalties.

        • Krik@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          1·
          28 minutes ago

          As of now it’s just a small thing. If X keeps denying the requested information the penalty can increase quickly by for example by setting a daily late fee of several million Euro. If X still doesn’t comply they can raid their German offices for the requested information. If X still doesn’t comply they can shut X down in Germany, maybe even in all of EU to force compliance.

          But usually you don’t need the extreme stuff.

      • reksas@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        4·
        6 hours ago

        propably just doing things by the book without thinking or their legal system doesnt have a way to fine billionaires so they just let the bastard go without punishment.