X Asked Ninth Circuit to Revive Lawsuit Against CCDH
The platform is challenging a lower court ruling that dismissed its claims regarding data scraping and lost revenue.
Updated on Oct. 1, 2026 in Cybersecurity
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X has urged a Ninth Circuit panel to reinstate its lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The platform alleges the nonprofit breached its terms of service by scraping public data using unauthorized credentials, leading to significant financial losses.
Why it matters
This appeal tests the boundaries of how companies can use anti-SLAPP statutes to defend against lawsuits targeting investigative research. It also underscores the platform's ongoing efforts to hold third-party organizations accountable for how they access and report on its data.
X alleges the CCDH scraped data via Brandwatch credentials provided by the European Climate Foundation, resulting in claimed losses in the millions. The lower court previously dismissed the case under a state anti-SLAPP statute, which allows for the dismissal of lawsuits intended to censor speech.
The players
X
A social media platform focusing on real-time microblogging and digital advertising.
Center for Countering Digital Hate
A nonprofit organization that conducts research on hate speech, misinformation, and extremism online.
Charles Breyer
A U.S. Senior District Judge who presided over the initial dismissal of the lawsuit.
European Climate Foundation
A philanthropic organization that provides research grants and access to various digital tools.
The details
The dispute centers on X's claims that the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) violated its terms of service by scraping public content from the platform. X argues that the nonprofit gained unauthorized access to internal data streams using third-party Brandwatch credentials sourced from the European Climate Foundation. The platform claims these scraping activities facilitated reports that caused advertisers to withdraw, leading to millions in lost revenue.
Timeline
July 2023: X originally sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
March 2024: U.S. Senior District Judge Charles Breyer dismissed the lawsuit.
September 30, 2026: X argued its appeal before a Ninth Circuit panel.
The Tech Race
The appeal reflects a broader trend of companies testing the limits of California's anti-SLAPP statute, which provides a procedural shield for research organizations against litigation. This case marks a significant challenge to how digital platforms use contract law to limit the scraping of public data.
This case establishes legal precedent for whether researchers can continue to use third-party tools to scrape data from major social platforms without risking litigation. Users should watch for the Ninth Circuit's upcoming decision, which may change how easily nonprofits can investigate platform content.
The takeaway
This case highlights the growing conflict between platform terms of service and the research community's need for public data access. Keep an eye on the Ninth Circuit docket for the forthcoming ruling on the viability of these breach-of-contract claims.
Further reading
For more context on how platforms manage third-party access, explore our Cybersecurity section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Court House News Service.
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