Elon Musk’s ‘X’ loses High Court challenge handling of complaints

The High Court has ruled that Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, failed in its attempt to challenge how the media regulator, Comisiún na Meán, handles user complaints against social media platforms. Mr Justice Cian Ferriter determined that the commission is legally entitled to refer information from complaints to a supervisory unit, which can keep those complaints for future systemic investigations.

X argued that the commission could not legally refer information from resolved or unresolved complaints, nor could they use the information for broader investigations. However, the court ruled that the commission has the discretion to determine who investigates complaints and that there was no improper limitation of that discretion.

X also claimed that the regulator was acting outside of its legal authority and that complainants deserved an outcome, rather than the commission "kicking the can down the road" without notifying them of potential future violations. David Fennelly SC, representing the commission, argued that X was trying to undermine the watchdog's crucial role in EU-wide cases.

However, Justice Ferriter dismissed X's claims, stating that there was no improper fettering of discretion and that the commission acted within its legal bounds.