Twitter sued for $250 million over alleged copyright infringement by Musk

A group of 17 music publishers, led by the National Music Publishers’ Association, has filed a lawsuit against Twitter for copyright infringement, seeking $250 million in damages. The plaintiffs claim that Twitter has unfairly benefitted from allowing users to share unlicensed music for years, while its competitors such as TikTok, Meta, and Snapchat pay licensing fees. The lawsuit alleges that providing free, unlicensed music gives Twitter an unfair advantage over other platforms. The suit further claims that the issue has gotten worse since the platform was purchased by Elon Musk, with screenshots of Musk's tweets critical of copyright rules included in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs argue that these tweets exert pressure on Twitter employees, including those in its trust and safety team, on issues relating to copyright and infringement. The lawsuit includes a list of 1,700 songs that were uploaded by users who had already been identified in multiple earlier notices, yet Twitter did not expeditiously remove or disable access. The plaintiffs claim that Twitter views itself, not the law, as the arbiter of what content is permitted on the platform. The lawsuit is asking for $150,000 statutory penalty for each of the violations. Twitter has not yet commented on the lawsuit.