Elon Musk’s X filed a lawsuit against the State of New York on Tuesday, challenging the constitutionality of the “Stop Hiding Hate Act.”
The new state law requires social media companies to disclose their content moderation practices, specifically regarding hate speech, extremism, disinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference. X Corp argues the law violates the First Amendment and the New York State Constitution.
The “Stop Hiding Hate Act,” formally introduced as Senate Bill 895–B, requires social media companies to publicly post their terms of service, detailing what user behavior and content are permitted or prohibited. More significantly, it compels these platforms to submit semi-annual reports to the Attorney General. These reports must include:
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Definitions: Whether the company defines categories like hate speech, extremism, disinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference, and if so, their specific definitions.
Content Moderation Practices: A detailed description of how content is moderated, including the role of automated systems and human review, how user reports are handled, and actions taken against violating content or users.
Flagged and Actioned Content Data: Concrete numbers on flagged and “actioned” content (removed, demonetized, deprioritized, or banned). This includes total numbers of flagged and actioned items, how many resulted in action against users, how many were removed/demonetized/deprioritized, and the number of times actioned content was viewed or shared before action was taken.
Content category, type, media must disaggregate this data, how it was flagged (e.g., by AI, employees, users), and how it was actioned.
Appeals Data: The number of user appeals against company actions and the number of reversals on appeal.
The law further stipulates that these terms of service must be available in the twelve most common non-English languages spoken by limited-English proficient individuals in New York.
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Under the Act, a social media company is in violation if it fails to post terms of service, fails to submit timely reports, or materially omits or misrepresents required information. However, the law does provide a 30-day cure period for companies to rectify identified violations before civil penalties are imposed.
The “Stop Hiding Hate Act” applies to social media companies generating over $100 million in gross revenue during the preceding calendar year, excluding services primarily for direct messaging, commercial transactions, or consumer reviews.
The first reports under the Act are scheduled to cover activity within the third quarter of 2025, due no later than January 1, 2026. The Attorney General is tasked with making all submitted reports publicly available in a searchable online repository.
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This lawsuit marks another significant legal battle over content moderation and free speech on social media platforms, as states increasingly seek to regulate online discourse. The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications for how social media companies operate and disclose their content policies across the United States.
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