Ireland’s High Court has ruled against X, Elon Musk’s social media company, in a challenge to how the country’s media regulator handles complaints. Judge Cian Ferriter ruled on Thursday, October 8, and The Irish Times reported him saying he did not believe it could be said that the commission “improperly disabled itself” from exercising its statutory discretion.
What the case was about
The regulator is Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland’s media regulator. The Irish Examiner reports that the court found it can legally pass information from complaints made under the EU’s Digital Services Act to a supervisory unit, which can keep those complaints to spot possible future compliance problems. X had argued that the regulator could not use information from concluded or undetermined complaints for broader investigations, that it had acted outside its statutory powers, and that complainants were owed an outcome.
What the judge found
The judge found no improper limiting of the commission’s discretion and no legally impermissible steps by the commission or its delegates, according to the Irish Examiner. Counsel for the regulator, David Fennelly, told the court that X was trying to undermine the watchdog’s role in cases with EU-wide implications. The Irish Times and Irish Examiner pages we read do not say when the case was heard or whether costs were awarded.
Our take: this is a ruling about what the regulator may do with complaints, not a finding that X broke any rule. The reports we read do not say whether X will appeal, or what the ruling means for any open case. Counsel for the regulator said these cases can have EU-wide effects. We found no wire coverage, so this rests on two Irish outlets.
