In a legal salvo aimed straight at Albany, Elon Musk’s X Corp has filed a federal lawsuit to dismantle New York’s new social media transparency law, arguing it tramples on constitutional rights and opens the floodgates to government censorship.
The legislation in question — dubbed the Stop Hiding Hate Act — demands that platforms publicly explain how they monitor and moderate everything from hate speech and disinformation to harassment and foreign influence. Noncompliance could cost tech companies a hefty $15,000 per violation, per day.
But Musk’s X says the law is a blunt instrument — one that punishes platforms for not policing speech the state deems inappropriate. “This is not the government’s role,” the company argued in its complaint filed in Manhattan federal court. The lawsuit insists the law violates the First Amendment and the New York Constitution by forcing platforms to disclose details about controversial or unpopular speech that they may choose not to regulate — or even define — in a particular way.
At the center of the legal storm is New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is named as the defendant. Her office did not respond to requests for comment.
X’s legal team bolstered its argument with a pointed quote from the very lawmakers behind the bill — state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Grace Lee — who accused Musk and X of having a “disturbing record” on content moderation that they say endangers democratic norms.
That accusation didn’t sit well with X, which positioned itself as a defender of robust debate in the public square — not a platform for extremism. “Determining what speech crosses the line is a conversation society continues to wrestle with,” the company said. “That’s not a task for the state.”
New York’s law closely mirrors a 2023 California statute that met similar resistance. That law’s enforcement was paused last year by a federal appeals court over similar First Amendment concerns. California eventually agreed not to enforce its law following a settlement with X earlier this year.
Hoylman-Sigal and Lee responded defiantly to the suit, saying Musk’s legal resistance only proves why the law is necessary. “The fact that Elon Musk would go to these lengths to avoid disclosing straightforward information to New Yorkers speaks volumes,” they said.
The case — X Corp v. James, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-05068 — now places one of the world’s richest men in yet another high-stakes clash over the limits of speech, regulation, and the power of tech platforms in American democracy.
