A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's X Corp., which sought to block a New York statute requiring social media companies to disclose their handling of hate speech, extremist material, and misinformation. The judge ruled that the First Amendment does not stand in the way of the legislation.
X Corp. had initiated legal action against New York last year, arguing that specific provisions of the Stop HATE and Against Extremism Act violated free speech protections guaranteed under both state and federal constitutions. The company requested the court to invalidate those provisions and prevent their enforcement.
U.S. District Judge John Cronan issued the dismissal on Wednesday, stating that the law merely obligates social media firms to "truthfully describe their platform operations," which aligns with the free speech objective of "seeking the truth." Attorneys representing X Corp. have not yet responded to emails requesting comment on the ruling.