logo
Musk's X sues to block New York social media transparency law

Musk's X sues to block New York social media transparency law

eNCA19-06-2025
Elon Musk's X Corp. has filed a lawsuit challenging a New York state law that requires social media companies to report how they moderate hate speech and disinformation.
The complaint, filed in a federal court in Manhattan, seeks to halt the law, which X argues violates the First Amendment by forcing platforms to disclose sensitive information about their content moderation practices.
"Today, @X filed a First Amendment lawsuit against a New York law, NY S895B," X's Global Government Affairs team posted Tuesday, adding that it had successfully challenged a similar law in California.
"X is the only platform fighting for its users by challenging the law, and we are confident we will prevail in this case as well," the company said.
The New York law requires social media companies with over $100 million in annual revenue to submit semiannual reports detailing how they define and moderate hate speech, racism, extremism, disinformation and harassment.
Companies face fines of $15,000 per day for violations, which can be sought by the attorney general's office.
X says the law is "an impermissible attempt by the State to inject itself into the content-moderation editorial process" and seeks to pressure platforms into restricting constitutionally protected speech.
- 'Stop Hiding Hate' -
Reporters Without Borders said in a statement that asking X "account for their actions against misinformation is by no means an infringement of freedom of expression, but the bare minimum to clean up the digital space."
"Freedom of expression does not come without responsibilities," it added.
The lawsuit comes after X successfully challenged a nearly identical California law last year, according to the filing. New York's law is "a carbon copy" of the California provisions that were struck down, the filing adds.
X claims New York lawmakers refused to discuss changes to the bill after the California ruling, with sponsors saying they declined to meet because of content on X promoted by owner Musk that "threatens the foundations of our democracy."
The company argues this indicated "viewpoint discriminatory motives" behind the law's passage.
Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly member Grace Lee -- who introduced the law -- said in a statement that their act "does not infringe upon the First Amendment rights of social media companies, nor does it conflict with federal law."
"Instead, the Stop Hiding Hate Act requires narrowly tailored disclosures by social media companies to allow consumers to better decide which social media platforms they utilize," they added.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Millions of Assumptions': Wins SARS Fraud Case, Casts Doubt on Blue Lights Trial
‘Millions of Assumptions': Wins SARS Fraud Case, Casts Doubt on Blue Lights Trial

The Star

time5 hours ago

  • The Star

‘Millions of Assumptions': Wins SARS Fraud Case, Casts Doubt on Blue Lights Trial

Sifiso Mahlangu | Published 3 hours ago The State's long-standing corruption case against businessman Vimpie Phineas Manthata suffered a major blow this week when the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court acquitted him and his co-accused in a R19 million tax fraud case that had formed a central pillar of the broader 'blue lights' procurement scandal. The verdict, delivered by Magistrate Phindi Keswa, saw Manthata, his company Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement (ITLE), and bookkeeper Judy Rose cleared of all charges related to alleged violations of the Tax Administration Act during the 2018 and 2019 tax years. Legal experts say the State's inability to prove its SARS case beyond a reasonable doubt will now put additional pressure on the corruption trial, which has already faced years of delays, procedural blunders, and accusations of political motivation. 'The prosecution could not distinguish between clerical mistakes and criminal conduct,' Magistrate Keswa ruled. 'Assumptions and administrative discrepancies cannot be used to build a case without clear evidence of intent.' The SARS prosecution had alleged that Manthata's company manipulated its tax returns to avoid paying nearly R19 million in VAT and other obligations. But defence attorney Pierre du Toit successfully argued that there was no evidence of fraud, deception, or intent to mislead SARS. 'This case is not about millions of rands, it is about millions of assumptions,' Du Toit told the court during closing arguments. 'The burden is on the State to prove guilt, and it has failed to do so in spectacular fashion.' He cited landmark cases including *State versus Prinsloo* and *State versus Futche*, which require a demonstration of clear intent to commit fraud — a standard the court agreed had not been met. SARS officials admitted under cross-examination that they had no direct proof of falsified entries, and Rose testified that all bookkeeping was done using standard software and practices. The collapse of the tax case undermines the State's broader narrative in the so-called blue lights corruption case, in which Manthata, former acting national police commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane, and ten others face charges linked to the irregular procurement of emergency police equipment worth R191 million. The State had portrayed ITLE as a central vehicle for corrupt payments, with the SARS case meant to illustrate how the company allegedly misrepresented its financial affairs. Now, with the tax fraud allegations discredited, the entire corruption case may be on shaky ground. Last week, the same court postponed the blue lights trial yet again — this time to October 2025 — after severe criticism of the State's inability to produce a coherent charge sheet more than seven years after the case was first opened. Magistrate Ashika Ramalal lambasted the prosecution's handling of the case, saying the delays and repeated administrative errors were unacceptable. Still, she ruled that the trial would go ahead next year, warning that no further postponements would be tolerated. Defence attorneys argued that their clients had suffered severe prejudice and that the continued delays were violating their right to a fair and timely trial. Accused number 9 was even left without legal representation at one point, prompting the State to suggest separating the charges — a proposal strongly opposed by the defence. The situation has been further complicated by the State's repeated failure to serve Phahlane properly and controversy over the dropping and reinstatement of charges against Manthata, a move legal observers say sets a dangerous precedent. But with one major case already dismissed and serious doubts now hanging over the remaining charges, many are questioning whether the blue lights corruption trial will ever result in a conviction, or if it is yet another politically entangled case destined to collapse under the weight of its mismanagement.

I.Coast denies journalists at risk ahead of presidential vote
I.Coast denies journalists at risk ahead of presidential vote

Eyewitness News

time12 hours ago

  • Eyewitness News

I.Coast denies journalists at risk ahead of presidential vote

ABIDJAN - Ivory Coast on Wednesday denied that members of the press were at risk, a day after an advocacy group called on authorities to "protect journalists" ahead of presidential elections. The west African nation, just three months away from the first round of presidential elections, has experienced several bouts of violence during past electoral periods. At the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, clashes around the election of President Alassane Ouattara, contested by his rival Laurent Gbagbo, resulted in approximately 3,000 deaths. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced in a statement Tuesday the intimidation of at least two Ivorian journalists since early May, urging "authorities as well as political actors to ensure the safety of journalists, both in the field and on social media". "We don't feel concerned," said Communication Minister Amadou Coulibaly. "The president protects journalists, who freely exercise their profession," he told AFP, adding that "no journalist has been troubled in the exercise of their duties since Alassane Ouattara has been in power". The NGO cited the case of M'ma Camara, a journalist for France 24 who was allegedly the target of a "smear campaign" after covering a June meeting of the main opposition party. The journalist, RSF said, was accused of downplaying the number of attendees at the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) meeting. "Some people published my address and that of my family," said Camara, quoted in the statement. RSF criticised "calls targeting journalists" after the publication of certain articles, including from some government members. Sadibou Marong, who leads RSF's Sub-Saharan Africa bureau, also pointed to "the arrest of a political refugee and information professional". Hugues Colman Sossoukpe, a journalist from Benin and a critic of his country's government, was arrested mid-July in Abidjan after being invited to Ivory Coast by the ministry of digital transition. Ivorian authorities then extradited him to Cotonou. Coulibaly said on Wednesday that authorities had taken "no illegal action" in the matter. "We simply executed an arrest warrant in the name of judicial cooperation with Benin," he said, adding that the minister of digital transition was unaware of the existence of such a warrant.

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet suffers global outage
Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet suffers global outage

The South African

time2 days ago

  • The South African

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet suffers global outage

SpaceX chief Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service experienced an hours-long global network outage late on Thursday, which executives attributed to a key software issue. The service interruption was announced on X at about 22:00 (SA time) on Thursday by Starlink's official handle. Users in the United States and Europe began reporting problems with the service an hour before the Starlink announcement on Downdetector, a website that tracks issues in internet-based services. 'Service will be restored shortly,' South Africa-born Musk posted on X, apologising for the outage. 'SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again.' The tech billionaire later reposted a statement from Starlink Vice President of Engineering Michael Nicolls, who said the disruption was due to the 'failure of key internal software services that operate the core network.' Nicolls also said the Starlink network had 'mostly recovered' from the outage, which 'lasted approximately 2.5 hours.' About two hours later, Starlink posted that the issue was resolved and that service was restored. User reports on Downdetector began after 21:00 (SA time), peaking at 21:34 (SA time) and tapering out at 05:00 (SA time). Starlink, a subsidiary of Musk's space rocket venture SpaceX, has deployed more than 6 000 low-orbit satellites to provide high-speed internet to isolated and poorly connected areas. Starlink currently leads the satellite internet race, with European competitor Eutelsat – which is backed by France and the United Kingdom – lagging behind with 600 satellites. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news. By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store