Elon Musk's X In Hot Water, Faces $255M Copyright Lawsuit Over Taylor Swift, Beyoncé Songs

A federal judge has given the green light to a copyright lawsuit against Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, over alleged widespread copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed by music publishers, accuses the social media platform of enabling illegal behavior by its users.

What Happened: In a filing on Tuesday, Judge Aleta A. Trauger made a pivotal ruling in the copyright lawsuit against X, allowing the case to proceed. The lawsuit, filed by numerous music publishers in June, alleges that Twitter facilitated the infringement of over 1,700 songs by artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

While the judge dismissed some of the lawsuit’s major claims, she allowed the core allegations to move forward. These include the accusation that X enabled illegal behavior by not taking action against users who had paid for “verified” status, effectively allowing them to infringe copyright with fewer consequences.

The development of first reported by Billboard.

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The lawsuit was organized by the National Music Publishers’ Association, which has long contended that X is the only major social media platform that refuses to license music. The case was filed against X by several music publishers, including Concord, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Sony Music Publishing.

Why It Matters: This lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal challenges faced by Twitter under Musk’s ownership.

Earlier this week, it was reported that four former Twitter executives, including ex-CEO Parag Agrawal, filed a lawsuit against Musk, the owner of the company, for allegedly withholding over $128 million in severance payments.

The executives, who were dismissed after Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, claimed that Musk reneged on their severance payments.

These legal challenges add to the growing list of issues faced by X under Musk’s leadership, raising questions about the company’s future and its ability to navigate these legal hurdles.

Photo via Shutterstock

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