NY Hate Speech Law Questions Certified to State High Court

The Second Circuit on Friday tasked the New York Court of Appeals with weighing the constitutionality of a state law regulating hate speech on social media.

The question at issue is whether the law regulates speech by requiring social media sites to adhere to the state’s definition of “hateful conduct.” Legal blogger Eugene Volokh and Peter Thiel-backed video site Rumble Inc. claim it does, and that the law will hurt online services and silence disfavored viewpoints.

If the court sides with the state, then plaintiffs’ suggestion that the Hateful Conduct Law “would chill the speech of social media users would ...