Elon Musk’s X Corp has sued New York State Attorney General Letitia James, challenging a law in the US state that requires social media companies to disclose how they monitor hate speech, extremism, and other content.

The complaint, filed on Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court, argues that the law forces companies to disclose “highly sensitive and controversial speech” that is protected under the United States Constitution’s First Amendment, but disfavoured by the state.

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Passed in December 2024, the law requires social media companies to clearly explain their terms of service to users and submit reports on those terms to the attorney general.

“We are taking bold action to hold companies accountable, strengthen protections, and give consumers the transparency and security they need and deserve,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at the time.

X Corp is seeking a court order to block enforcement of the law, known as the Stop Hiding Hate Act.

Deciding what content is acceptable on social media platforms “engenders considerable debate among reasonable people about where to draw the correct proverbial line”, X said, adding “this is not a role that the government may play”.

The complaint also quoted a letter from two legislators who sponsored the law, which said X and Musk in particular had a “disturbing record” on content moderation “that threatens the foundations of our democracy”.

New York’s law requires social media companies to disclose steps they take to eliminate hate on their platforms, and to report their progress. Civil fines could reach $15,000 per violation per day.

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The law was written by state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly Member Grace Lee, both Democrats, with help from the Anti-Defamation League.

Series of lawsuits

X said that New York based its law on a nearly identical 2023 California law whose enforcement was partially blocked by a federal appeals court last September because of free speech concerns.

California agreed in a February settlement with X not to enforce the law’s disclosure requirements.

This marks the latest in a series of lawsuits by the company targeting US states over free speech concerns. In April, X sued the state of Minnesota over a law banning deepfakes intended to harm political candidates or influence elections.

Musk has long described himself as a free speech absolutist, yet he has also been criticised for censoring political voices he disagrees with. As Al Jazeera reported ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Musk, then a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, regularly suppressed Democratic voices and suspended several accounts on X that were critical of Trump or of Musk’s views.

The platform has also faced ongoing accusations of fostering hate speech under Musk’s leadership. In 2023, the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that X failed to act on 99 percent of hate-filled content posted by users subscribed to Twitter Blue, the company’s premium service.

Reports by watchdog groups, including Media Matters, eventually led several major brands to pause advertising on the platform, which prompted X to file lawsuits in response.