New York Federal Judge Andrew Carter Jr. just delivered a massive win for free speech. Judge Carter sided with Rumble, the free speech-friendly video service, and Eugene Volokh, a pro-liberty legal blogger. Carter ruled that New York’s “Hateful Conduct Law” was unconstitutional.
The basis of his judgment was that the First Amendment protects US citizens from having their speech regulated by the government.
In the ruling, Judge Carter said “The Hateful Conduct Law both compels social media networks to speak about the contours of hate speech and chills the constitutionally protected speech of social media users, without articulating a compelling governmental interest or ensuring that the law is narrowly tailored to that goal.”
Continuing, he went on to say that the law stands in stark opposition to America’s “national commitment to the free expression of speech, even where that speech is offensive or repugnant.”
Judge Carter then went on to point out that the law is clearly meant to illegally regulate speech and force social media networks to crack down on the speech of their users. In his words:
“The law is clearly aimed at regulating speech. Social media websites are publishers and curators of speech, and their users are engaged in speech by writing, posting, and creating content. Although the law ostensibly is aimed at social media networks, it fundamentally implicates the speech of the networks’ users by mandating a policy and mechanism by which users can complain about other users’ protected speech.”
He also pointed out the ridiculousness of the law given how vaguely hate speech is defined, saying “For example, could a post using the hashtag ‘BlackLivesMatter’ or ‘BlueLivesMatter’ be considered ‘hateful conduct’ under the law? Likewise, could social media posts expressing anti-American views be considered conduct that humiliates or vilifies a group based on national origin?”
Hochul, when she announced the law, said that “And in the state of New York, we’re now requiring social media networks to monitor and report hateful conduct on their platforms.” Watch that here:
Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) announces that New York State is now requiring social media companies to “monitor and report hateful conduct.” pic.twitter.com/63pMu4MkA8
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) June 6, 2022
Commenting on the victory, FIRE attorney Jay Diaz said “For decades, courts have been very clear: States cannot burden the free exchange of ideas, regardless of the ideas’ perceived morality or merit. What happened in Buffalo broke the nation’s heart, and we are thankful that the killer is being brought to justice. But, as the court recognized, violating expressive rights online won’t make us safer.”
Similarly, another FIRE attorney, David Ortner, said “New York’s vague and overbroad law sought to stifle robust debate on the internet. Today’s decision is a victory for the First Amendment that should be celebrated by everyone who hopes to see the internet continue as a place where even difficult and contentious issues can be debated and discussed freely.”
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1