Legal Challenge by Elon Musk and X Against Irish Media Watchdog
Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), has launched a High Court challenge against Ireland’s media watchdog, Comisiún na Meán. The company is contesting the lawfulness of the commission’s investigations into how user complaints are handled. This legal battle centers on whether X and Musk are considered the “provider” of the platform under EU law.
During the hearing, Declan McGrath SC, representing Musk and X Holdings Corp, argued that the company is not the provider of the global platform as claimed by the commission. Instead, he suggested that the designated service provider is an associated company called XIUC. According to Mr. McGrath, the commission’s investigation should be directed at XIUC, not Musk or X.
The applicants claim they are entitled to the principle of “legal certainty,” especially in any investigation that could lead to findings of “criminal character.” They argue that they are not the providers of X’s service in the EU and are based in the United States. Mr. McGrath emphasized that the addressee of the commission’s original investigation is not the applicants but XIUC.
The commission is conducting a formal investigation into the provider of the X online platform under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). The focus of the investigation is whether X has violated Article 20 of the DSA, which concerns internal complaint-handling systems for larger online platforms with over 45 million monthly users within the EU.
The commission is examining whether users can appeal X’s decisions not to remove content that includes “terrorist” material when they report something they believe breaches X’s terms of service. In their application for judicial review, Musk’s correspondence address is listed as Excession LLC, 2110 Ranch Road 620 South, Austin, Texas, USA, while X Holdings is listed as Bastrop, Texas.
Mr. McGrath stated that the commission expanded its investigation without an appeal mechanism, including Musk and X Holdings. He argued this creates a “legal uncertainty” in the proceedings that cannot be opposed until the conclusion of any investigation, potentially leading to a judicial “irredeemability” in the process itself.
He further claimed that the financial penalties involved could be characterized as “criminal in character” and that the commission had extended its investigation to include Musk and X Holdings, despite initially acknowledging XIUC as the provider of the social media platform.
The two applicants assert that neither of them “provide the X Service in the EU, or have any contractual relationship relating to the X Service” for recipients of the service in the EU. They claim that the European Commission has already designated XIUC as the only provider of the service in the EU. XIUC’s address is listed as Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2.
The applicants argue that the commission acted beyond its powers by starting the investigation without determining whether Musk or X Holdings are the relevant intermediary service providers under the Act. Notice party XIUC claims the direction grounding the investigation is “ambiguous and void for lack of legal certainty, in breach of fair procedures, and in breach of transparency requirements.” It also states that the notice of the investigation fails to specify “particulars” of suspected contraventions.
Mr. McGrath said neither applicant has any direct relationship with the platform provider XIUC under EU law and that this was accepted by the Irish government. He highlighted that the challenge by Musk and X is that the commission could not commence or continue their investigation without a clear decision on who the provider of the “X” service is, as it would “set off on the wrong footing.”
The case continues before Mr. Justice Barry O’Donnell and is scheduled to last three days.
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