The Electronic Frontier Foundation is calling upon the Second Circuit to maintain the injunction against New York’s contentious online “Hateful Conduct” law, asserting that it poses a dangerous threat to free speech on digital platforms. The EFF’s challenge to the law highlights the enduring value of individual rights in the rapidly evolving landscape of digital communication, and draws light to the continued struggle between free speech rights and attempts at internet regulation.
The proposed law, aimed at holding tech companies accountable for content deemed “hateful,” has triggered widespread alarm from multiple sectors with free speech advocacy at their core. The fear is that such laws could inadvertently act as a form of censorship, even if their original purpose was protection rather than restriction.
Further, the EFF, in collaboration with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), is working to protect public commentary, urging the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to reverse a past ruling that condoned censorship of public comments, a harmful precedent for free speech.
