Musk's X gets German judge removed in battle over election data

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has secured a German court motion to remove a judge overseeing its legal battle against two activist groups seeking election data access, according to court documents seen by Reuters on Friday.

Earlier this month, a Berlin regional court ordered X—formerly Twitter—to provide real-time access to election-related data for Germany’s February 23 vote.

The ruling came after two activist groups, Democracy Reporting International and the Society for Civil Rights, argued they needed the data to monitor misinformation.

X appealed the decision and filed a motion to remove the judge, claiming they had "positively engaged" with social media content from the plaintiffs. The court granted the motion but dismissed similar requests against two other judges.

The lawsuit comes amid tensions between Musk and Germany’s political establishment. Musk has publicly criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a “fool” and endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The activists contend that X is legally obligated to provide structured data access, including post reach, shares, and likes—information that is technically available but impractical to obtain manually.

X accuses Germany of overreach

X has also vowed to sue the German government, alleging excessive demands for user data. The company claims Germany is the most frequent requester of such information within the European Union.

"X believes these legal demands for user data are unlawful," its global government affairs team posted on X earlier this week, adding that lawsuits in federal and state courts are forthcoming.

Germany’s digital affairs ministry acknowledged X’s public statements but said it had not yet received any legal filings.

A hearing on the injunction is set for February 27 at 0930 GMT. While the timing means activists won’t receive real-time data access before the election, the court’s decision could set a precedent for similar cases.

Musk’s Broader battles

Separately, Musk and advisors from the newly formed U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are working to downsize federal bureaucracy at President Donald Trump’s request.

The legal fight over X’s election data obligations adds to Musk’s ongoing clashes with global governments over free speech, privacy, and platform regulation.