BERLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A German court ordered Elon Musk's social media platform, X, to provide information for researchers to track the dissemination of election-influencing content on the network, according to a ruling on Friday.
The Berlin district court's decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by two civil rights groups seeking access to data to monitor misinformation and disinformation leading up to Germany's national election on February 23.
Stating that further delay in accessing the data could hinder the research project's effectiveness due to the critical time before the election, the court said, "Waiting any longer for access to the data would undermine the applicants' research project since the period immediately before the election is crucial," as seen in a Reuters report.
X had not complied with the court's request for information, and the court instructed the company to cover the 6,000 euros ($6,200) in legal costs.
"This ruling is a significant victory for research freedom and our democracy," commented Simone Ruf, a lawyer from the German Society for Civil Rights (GFF), one of the parties involved.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The GFF and Democracy Reporting International argued that X has a legal obligation under European law to provide easily accessible, consolidated data including post reach, shares, and likes, aspects that are theoretically available but practically impossible to retrieve by sorting through numerous posts.
The court's decision mandates X to make the data accessible up to shortly after the election.
Given the platform owner's support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which ranks second in the polls behind the conservatives, monitoring misinformation and disinformation on X is especially crucial.
In January, Tesla magnate and Trump ally Musk posted, "Only the AfD can save Germany," prior to hosting a live interview with the party's leader, Alice Weidel.
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