{"id":2449068,"date":"2025-06-18T18:01:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T22:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/x-sues-ny-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T18:03:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T22:03:32","slug":"x-sues-ny-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/x-sues-ny-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"X Sues NY For Demanding Social Media Data To Censor Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fx-sues-ny-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2449068&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Social media platform X has filed a lawsuit against New York State in response to the &#8220;Stop Hiding Hate Act,&#8221; a law that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-tech-bill-meant-to-protect-children-online-has-filibuster-proof-majority-in-senate\/\" title=\"Senate has a filibuster-proof majority for a bill safeguarding children online in Big Tech\">mandates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-poll-watcher-it-expert-non-trump-supporter-affidavit-sudden-surge-of-20000-mail-in-votes-for-biden-in-early-hours-on-nov\/\" title=\"GA Poll Watcher, IT Expert, Non-Trump Supporter Affidavit: Sudden Surge of 20,000 Mail-In-Votes For Biden In Early Hours On Nov\">social media companies<\/a><\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teens-take-charge-likely-violating-federal-tax-law-experts-say\/\" title=\"Teens Take Charge Likely Violating Federal Tax ..., Experts Say\">submit semi-annual reports<\/a> detailing their practices for regulating certain types of speech, such as hate speech adn misinformation. X argues that this law infringes upon their First amendment rights and could compromise free speech by requiring the disclosure of sensitive content moderation practices.<\/p>\n<p>Signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, the act implicates financial penalties for companies that fail to comply with reporting requirements. X&#8217;s legal action highlights concerns about government overreach and the implications of mandated content moderation disclosures. The lawmakers who sponsored the law, Senator Brad Holyman-Sigal and Assemblywoman Grace Lee, argue that it is necessary for clarity and accountability amidst what they view as a surge in harmful online speech.The situation draws parallels to a similar California law challenged by X, indicating a growing trend in legislative efforts to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >regulate social media platforms&#8217; speech content<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/person-holding-smartphone-with-modern-app-interface-31450274\/\">Abdelrahman Ahmed \/ Pexels<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/18\/x-sues-new-york-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=X%20Sues%20New%20York%20For%20Demanding%20Social%20Media%20Data%20To%20Censor%20Speech&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/18\/x-sues-new-york-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=X%20Sues%20New%20York%20For%20Demanding%20Social%20Media%20Data%20To%20Censor%20Speech&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/18\/x-sues-new-york-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/18\/x-sues-new-york-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=X%20Sues%20New%20York%20For%20Demanding%20Social%20Media%20Data%20To%20Censor%20Speech&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/18\/x-sues-new-york-for-demanding-social-media-data-to-censor-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Social media company X sued New York to challenge a state law that requires social media companies to submit semi-annual reports about how they are suppressing certain kinds of speech to the New York attorney general. According to the lawsuit, provisions in the &ldquo;Stop Hiding Hate Act&rdquo; violate social media companies&rsquo; First Amendment rights and threaten free speech.<\/p>\n<p>The law, in part, <a href=\"https:\/\/legislation.nysenate.gov\/pdf\/bills\/2023\/S895B\">outlines<\/a> &ldquo;terms of service reports&rdquo; in which companies must disclose to the state whether the terms of service for each of their platforms define certain &ldquo;categories,&rdquo; including hate speech, racism, extremism, misinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference. If their terms of service do include these categories, the companies would also be required to include those definitions in the report. The reports would also require companies to disclose a &ldquo;detailed description&rdquo; of their &ldquo;content moderation practices&rdquo; regarding these categories. Failing to submit the report could engender $15,000 per day. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law in December, and it is set to go into <a href=\"https:\/\/news.justia.com\/x-alleges-new-yorks-stop-hiding-hate-act-impinges-free-speech\/#:~:text=New%20York%20Governor%20Kathy%20Hochul,takes%20effect%20later%20this%20year.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">effect<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-987181618\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>X challenged the constitutionality of the &ldquo;Content Category Report&rdquo; portions of the law, arguing that they force companies to disclose &ldquo;highly sensitive and controversial speech&rdquo; protected under the Constitution. X also noted that content moderation &ldquo;engenders considerable debate among reasonable people about where to draw the correct proverbial line,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;[t]his is not a role the government may play.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Musk, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1499976967105433600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described<\/a> himself as a &ldquo;free speech absolutist,&rdquo; bought Twitter in 2022 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/elon-musk-reveals-why-bought-twitter-1755180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">return<\/a> the platform to &ldquo;a digital town square&rdquo; where ideas could be debated freely. He loosened the platform&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-tell-oversight-board-facebooks-trump-ban-example-of-uneven-standards\/\" title=\"Republicans Tell Oversight Board Facebook\u2019s Trump Ban Example of Uneven Standards\">content moderation rules<\/a> and readmitted suspended users, including President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>New York State Sen. Brad Holyman-Sigal and Assemblywoman Grace Lee, both Democrats, sponsored the law. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/admin\/structure\/media\/manage\/filefile\/a\/2024-09\/twitter-letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> that X quoted in the lawsuit, the two politicians said that X and Musk have a &ldquo;disturbing record,&rdquo; which &ldquo;threatens the foundations of our democracy.&rdquo; In a Tuesday statement responding to the lawsuit, the two lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2025\/brad-hoylman-sigal\/senator-hoylman-sigal-and-assemblymember-lee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> social media companies, including X, &ldquo;cesspools of hate speech,&rdquo; and claimed the &ldquo;Stop Hiding Hate Act&rdquo; is necessary for &ldquo;transparency.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The &ldquo;Content Category Report&rdquo; provisions of the New York &ldquo;Stop Hiding Hate Act&rdquo; are almost identical to a California law that Gavin Newsom signed in 2022, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/litigation\/x-wins-pause-on-california-social-media-anti-hate-speech-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">requiring<\/a> social media companies to submit similar reports to the California attorney general. X challenged the law on the same <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/musk-twitter-x-california-lawsuit-content-moderation-0ed853f6bc2c5e5449edc2e0a2cb0fa8\">grounds<\/a> of unconstitutionality, and a U.S. court of appeals ruled in their favor. Despite this, Holyman-Sigal and Lee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2025\/brad-hoylman-sigal\/senator-hoylman-sigal-and-assemblymember-lee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">insist<\/a> that the &ldquo;Stop Hiding Hate Act does not infringe upon the First Amendment rights of social media companies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Both the New York and California laws were <a href=\"https:\/\/a46.asmdc.org\/news\/20220701-first-its-kind-california-law-would-compel-social-media-companies-disclose-hate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sponsored<\/a> in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Founded to fight antisemitism, the ADL has recently warped into a partisan, left-wing <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2017\/07\/28\/anti-defamation-leagues-sad-slide-just-another-left-wing-pressure-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;pressure group.&rdquo;<\/a> In 2020, the group joined a campaign demanding that Facebook censor pro-Trump ads. In 2021, they <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/07\/26\/paypal-is-conspiring-with-the-anti-defamation-league-to-decide-which-political-views-are-acceptable-in-finance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">partnered with PayPal<\/a> to investigate how so-called &ldquo;extremist and hate movements&rdquo; utilize financial platforms, as the Federalist reported.<\/p>\n<p>X tried to meet with the bill&rsquo;s authors earlier last year to discuss amendments, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2024\/brad-hoylman-sigal\/governor-hochul-signs-stop-hiding-hate-act-ensure#:~:text=The%20%E2%80%9CStop%20Hiding%20Hate%E2%80%9D%20Act%20ensures%20greater%20accountability%20and%20transparency,eliminate%20hate%20on%20their%20platforms.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> a release from Sen. Holyman-Sigal&rsquo;s office. The company&rsquo;s request was rejected.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General James did not respond to The Federalist&rsquo;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Jacqueline Annis-Levings is a correspondent for the Federalist. She is a rising junior at Patrick Henry College, where she is majoring in English.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Jacqueline Annis-Levings<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JacqLevings\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@JacqLevings<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/jacquelineannislevings\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/anti-defamation-league\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Anti-Defamation League<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/censorhip\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Censorhip<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elon Musk<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/first-amendment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">First Amendment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/free-speech\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">free speech<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">New York<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/social-media\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">social media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/stop-hiding-hate-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Stop Hiding Hate Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/x\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">X<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social media firm X is suing New York over a law mandating semi-annual reports on speech suppression, claiming it violates First Amendment rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3848,"featured_media":2449069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-arshutter-31450274-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6371,4585,53809,32364,56694],"class_list":["post-2449068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-censorship","tag-lawsuit","tag-ny-2","tag-social-media","tag-x-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-arshutter-31450274-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449068"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2449072,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449068\/revisions\/2449072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2449069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}