A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk's X, which sought to overturn a New York state law requiring social media companies to disclose how they monitor hate speech, extremism, harassment, foreign political interference, and disinformation. District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan rejected arguments from X claiming that the Stop Hiding Hate Act infringed upon the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by exposing it to legal action and steep fines unless it disclosed "highly sensitive and controversial speech" that the state found objectionable.
However, the judge held that requiring X to report "purely factual and uncontroversial information" regarding its content moderation policies was reasonably connected to New York's interest in enabling people to make informed choices about using social media. "Businesses always exercise their discretion, judgment, and opinions when deciding what goods or services to offer," Cronan wrote. "Burger King chooses to generally offer higher-calorie items than, say, Sweetgreen, but the disclosure of calorie information remains purely factual.
So too here." The ruling dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice and barred X from submitting an amended complaint. X, previously known as Twitter, forms part of SpaceX, Musk's rocket and satellite business. Neither X nor SpaceX legal representatives responded immediately to requests for comment.
The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James defended the law. It also did not immediately reply to similar requests for comment. Signed in December 2024 by Governor Kathy Hochul, the New York legislation requires social media platforms generating at least $100 million in annual revenue to detail their efforts to eliminate hate on their platforms and report their progress.
Written with assistance from the Anti-Defamation League, the law outlines potential civil fines of up to $15,000 per violation per day. In requesting dismissal, James said the legislation helps consumers understand what to expect from social media without restricting platforms from speaking out or exercising judgment when moderating content. Musk dismantled Twitter's content moderation policy after purchasing the company in 2022.
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