Home / Business and Economy / Musk's X Battles Publishers in Antitrust Lawsuit
Musk's X Battles Publishers in Antitrust Lawsuit
10 Jan
Summary
- X Corp filed an antitrust lawsuit against 18 music publishers.
- The lawsuit alleges publishers conspired to inflate music license costs.
- X claims publishers used takedown notices to force industry-wide deals.
X Corp has initiated a significant antitrust lawsuit against 18 major music publishers and the National Music Publishers' Association. Filed in a federal district court in Texas, the suit alleges that these entities colluded to block competition and compel X to acquire music licenses at excessive costs. The platform asserts that it has been unfairly denied the opportunity to secure competitive licensing agreements for musical works.
The lawsuit contends that publishers representing over 90% of U.S. copyrighted music joined forces through the NMPA to conspire against X. X claims these publishers have weaponized copyright by issuing numerous weekly takedown notices for posts containing music. This tactic, X alleges, aims to pressure the platform into accepting restrictive industry-wide licensing terms, leading to the removal of thousands of posts and suspension of over 50,000 users.
This legal action follows a previous lawsuit filed by 17 music publishers in 2023, which accused X of copyright infringement for allowing unauthorized music uploads and sought over $250 million in damages. X successfully had most of that suit dismissed in 2024. In the current filing, X seeks to restore competitive conditions in music licensing and recover compensation for lost advertising revenue.
