New York Forces Websites to Monitor 'Hateful' Speech. A New Lawsuit Says This Violates the First Amendment."The state of New York can't turn bloggers into Big Brother, but it's trying to do just that," said FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner.
EMMA CAMP
12.5.2022
In New York, websites and apps are required to have a plan to address "hateful conduct" on their platforms. A new lawsuit is seeking to change that.
On Thursday, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) filed a lawsuit on behalf of two online platforms, Rumble and Locals, as well as Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor who runs the blog The Volokh Conspiracy (which is hosted by Reason.) FIRE claims that a New York law mandating that online platforms provide mechanisms for reporting "hateful" speech violates the First Amendment.
"The state of New York can't turn bloggers into Big Brother, but it's trying to do just that," said FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner said in a Thursday press release. "The government can't burden online expression protected by the Constitution, whether it's doing it in the name of combating hate or any other sentiment."
In June, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill, "Social Media Networks; Hateful Conduct Prohibited," intended to curb online hateful speech. The law amends existing business regulations to require that broadly defined social media networks provide a mechanism for users to report instances of "hateful conduct" and publish a policy for how it will "respond and address" the reports.
* * *
Source:
https://reason.com/2022/12/05/new-york-forces-websites-to-monitor-hateful-speech-a-new-lawsuit-says-this-violates-the-first-amendment/
