Elon Musk’s IX is moving its legal battles to North Texas

The lawsuit against X (formerly Twitter) will soon be heard in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The change was first announced last month as part of a broader set of changes to X’s terms of service and privacy policy. Now, with the changes set to go into effect on November 15, The Washington Post spoke to a number of legal and technology experts about what the move could mean.

X owner Elon Musk also recently moved the social media company’s headquarters from San Francisco to Bastrop, Texas (near Austin) — but Bastrop lies in Texas’ Western District.

The Northern District, on the other hand, has become a hotbed for conservative activists seeking to challenge Democratic policies, as 10 of the 11 current judges are appointed by Republican presidents.

While it’s common for companies to specify in their terms of service where lawsuits can be filed, Cornell law professor GS Hans described the choice of the Northern District of Texas as “odd” — compared to the Northern District of California (which many tech companies choose as their legal venue), Hans said the state of Texas “doesn’t have a lot of volume or history” with technology crimes.