X to share user data with German authorities for crime investigations

X (formerly known as Twitter) X is collaborating with demands from German prosecutors in online hate-crime investigations. Ever since Musk acquired Twitter, the company seems to have shown an unprecedented openness to sharing user data in criminal investigations. The company’s compliance rate has risen by 11% in the last reporting period, and there is a 7% decrease in information requests, which could seemingly represent a positive turn toward the company’s transparency. 

However, critics claim that there is more than meets the eye, as Musk has been very selective about which data he opts to deliver to authorities. During a criminal investigation related to Donald Trump and the 2020 elections, X showed great resistance in court when it came to turning over the former US President’s data. Former Twitter executive Yoel Roth calls this a ‘double standard’, as the company does not seem to show that much vigor to protect activists who use the platform to challenge authoritarian regimes. 

In June of this year, the Indian government reprimanded Elon Musk’s platform for being ‘habitually non-compliant with content blocking orders. These included removing 1,000 Twitter accounts that helped spread false information about farmers’ protests against new agricultural laws and an array of posts related to COVID-19 and advocacies for an independent Sikh state.