Fear Of Potential Lawsuits From Elon Musk Prompt Researchers To Abandon 100+ Studies On X

Over a hundred studies analyzing X, previously known as Twitter, have been affected due to new restrictions imposed by Elon Musk, causing concern among researchers and raising legal fears.

According to Reuters, Musk’s limitations on data collection methods have hindered the investigation of disinformation spread during real-time events. The key tool that provided researchers with access to about 10 million tweets per month has been discontinued, as conveyed in an email seen by Reuters.

These changes have led to many researchers fearing potential lawsuits from X over their findings or data usage. This fear was triggered by X’s lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) following its critical reports about X’s content moderation.

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As a result of Musk’s restrictions, over 30 projects have been canceled, 47 put on hold, and 27 have shifted platforms. The affected research includes areas of hate speech and topics that have drawn global regulatory attention.

The European Union regulators are currently investigating X’s handling of disinformation, which was the subject of many stalled or canceled research studies. According to Josephine Lukito, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, the reduced capacity to study X makes its users more susceptible to hate speech and misinformation.

Following Musk’s takeover, X now offers three paid tiers of its previously free API. Researchers have found the costs prohibitive and have had to resort to manual analysis of posts. The new API pricing has been identified by a majority of survey respondents as the reason for pausing or canceling their studies.

Since Musk’s acquisition, X’s U.S. ad revenue has reportedly declined by at least 55% YoY each month, stirring concerns among advertisers about the potential association of their ads with harmful content.

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