A federal judge has shut down X’s challenge to California’s content moderation law, striking another blow against Elon Musk’s leadership.

Musk gutted the X (then Twitter) moderation team shortly after he bought the company. Since then, there have been reports of growing issues with hate speech and illegal content on the platform. California passed AB 587 in 2022, a law that requires social media platforms to document their content moderation efforts, prompting X to launch a First Amendment challenge in court.

According to The Verge, US District Judge William Shubb denied the company’s request for a preliminary injunction.

“While the reporting requirement does appear to place a substantial compliance burden on social medial companies, it does not appear that the requirement is unjustified or unduly burdensome within the context of First Amendment law,” Judge Shubb wrote in his decision.

“The reports required by AB 587 are purely factual. The reporting requirement merely requires social media companies to identify their existing content moderation policies, if any, related to the specified categories,” Judge Shubb continued. “The required disclosures are also uncontroversial. The mere fact that the reports may be ‘tied in some way to a controversial issue’ does not make the reports themselves controversial.”

Musk has labeled himself as pro-free speech—although in practice he has mainly been pro-free speech so long as that speech is not critical of him—citing free speech as one of reasons for his stand on moderation. Judge Shubb’s ruling, however, puts the burden on X to document its moderation efforts.

It’s a safe bet Musk may not want a light shone on X’s moderation…or lack thereof.