Assembly Member Patricia Fahy (A.D. 109) released a statement on Friday, Dec. 2, following news that a lawsuit has been filed, challenging a New York State law, requiring social media networks to provide and maintain mechanisms for reporting hateful conduct on their platforms and to disclose how they respond to such reports.

 

State law, A.7583-A, which took effect Friday, Dec. 3, was sponsored last year by Fahy, who represents parts of upstate New York, including Albany, and State Sen. Anna Kaplan (A.D. 7), who represents parts of Nassau County. The law was part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s gun reform package, which was passed earlier in the summer, as reported at the time, following the horrific, racist-driven, mass shooting caused by Payton Gendron in Buffalo in May, which resulted in the deaths of 10 Black people and the wounding of three, as reported by CNN.

 

Meanwhile, Bloomberg has reported the law was challenged by the Volokh Conspiracy legal blog and the Peter Thiel-backed video site, Rumble Inc., which, Bloomberg reports, claims the law will hurt online services and seek to silence unfavorable but constitutionally protected expression.

 

“In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday against New York Attorney General Letitia James, the plaintiffs sought to stop the new state law from taking effect as scheduled on Saturday,” Bloomberg reported, adding the plaintiffs claim New York “cannot regulate disfavored online speech by compelling online service to ‘mouth support for views they find objectionable’ in hopes of deterring or eliminating hate speech.”

 

Reacting to the news, Fahy issued a press release, saying, “We have seen how dangerous the unmitigated spread of violent extremism and misinformation across social media networks can be. With over 4.75 billion posts made on Facebook alone every day, and more than 70 percent of Americans having some form of social media account, New York’s law requiring social media platforms to put into place clear, concise policies on how to report and address hateful content is a basic, common-sense step in the right direction.”

 

As also reported by CNN, Gendron, a 19-year-old, White man, pleaded guilty to one count of a domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and a weapons possession charge in the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14. The charges come with a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole.

 

As previously reported, under the New York State gun reform package, legislation S.9458/A.10503 bars the purchase of semi-automatic rifles by anyone under 21 by requiring a license. Legislation S.9407-B/A.10497 prohibits the purchase of body armor with the exception of those in specified professions.

 

Legislation S.9113-A./A.10502 expands the list of people who can file Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) and requires law enforcement to file ERPOs under a specified set of circumstances.

Great work by @NYSpolice, @NewYorkStateAG, @NYPDnews, & @DEAHQ to protect New Yorkers.

Through collaboration and information-sharing, we’re making real progress in getting guns off our streets & keeping communities safe. https://t.co/wojcwUVbw0

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) December 2, 2022

The package also strengthened crime reporting; closing “other gun” loopholes; requires the microstamping of new semi-automatic pistols; eliminated grandfathering of high-capacity feeding devices; and required social media companies to improve the response to, and reporting of, hateful content.

 

The lawsuit comes in the wake of recent comments, widely regarded as anti-Semitic, by rapper, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in which he praised Adolf Hitler during an interview on the right-wing talk show, Infowars. The show is hosted by conspiracy theorist and conservative talk show host, Alex Jones, who, himself, has declared bankruptcy after a series of defamation trials resulted in his owing nearly $1.5 billion to the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting. As reported by NPR, among other statements, Ye, who has over 30 million followers, said during the Infowars interview, “I see good things about Hitler.” He also said, “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.”

 

Meanwhile, according to the The Times UK , a British teenager, Daniel Harris,19, from Glossop in Derbyshire faces extradition to the United States after being found guilty of publishing far-right, terrorist material that allegedly inspired the mass shooting in Buffalo.

 

Harris produced videos that called for armed insurrection and glorified the crimes of white supremacist mass murderers. His content was seen by Gendron. His “manifesto” used an image from a Daniel Harris video.

 

Of the latest lawsuit, Fahy added, “I believe the constitutionality of New York’s social media law will be affirmed by the courts, and it will be used to protect New Yorkers from dangerous, hate-fueled extremism both online and offline.”

 

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.