Elon Musk’s X has filed a lawsuit against The Onion to buy Alex Jones’ InfoWars out of bankruptcy, saying it has “superior ownership” over X’s accounts.
The dispute, filed Monday in a Texas bankruptcy court, seeks to block the parody news site from Jones or InfoWars’ X accounts and refused to be included in The Onion’s bid on Jones’ media operation. X’s lawyers pointed to the platform’s terms of service in its investigation, saying any accounts were the “sole property” of X and not its users.
X account holders only own content that “submits, posts or displays” on X, the file is called.
The company, as the owner of the platform, “grant each user, worldwide, a free, non-distributable and non-exclusive license to use the software provided,” the lawsuit added.
That means, according to X’s lawyers, the company must protect the InfoWars account, as well as the wealth of Jones’ account, which has 3.3 million followers; a judge will be deciding whether Jones’ personal X account is included in any selloff tied to his bankruptcy.
X explained that it “does not object to the proposed sale as a general matter,” simply transferring the accounts as part of any agreement.
Musk bought X, later known as Twitter, in 2022 for $44 million. He reinstated Jones’ account, after he was removed from the platform in 2018.
The Onion announced that it had bought InfoWars earlier this month, but the deal fell through in recent weeks. The withdrawal request hinges on funding, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez on Monday scheduled a December hearing on whether the deal is over.
Jones liquidated his assets and declared bankruptcy after he was ordered to pay a $1.5 billion defamation settlement to the parents of the children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Jones had said on his show that the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, in which 20 children were murdered, was “organized” by the government in order to get hold of the gun.
“It’s like a $3 bill,” Jones said of the shooting. He also called the parents “problem actors” who were faking their cries.
He was later sued for defamation by several Sandy Hook families.
In a statement to the court, Jones said he was “not trying to cause pain and suffering” to the family with his comments. He also said that parents and children are “being used to destroy the First Amendment.”
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