Case 1:22-cv-10195-ALC Document 29 Filed 02/14/23 Page 3 of 21
store in Buffalo, New York. (Sawyer Decl., ECF No. 20 ¶ 4; id., Ex. A, ECF No. 20-1 at 34.) The attack left ten people dead and three wounded. (Id.) Shortly thereafter, a recording of the mass shooting “went viral” and was re-posted on several websites, including 4chan and Reddit. (Id.) A manifesto expressing the shooter’s racist ideology was also shared on social media. (Id. at 15–16, 34.)
In response to the mass shooting, Governor Kathy Hochul issued a referral letter to the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”), directing it to investigate the events surrounding the shooting, focusing on “the specific online platforms that were used to broadcast and amplify the acts and intentions of the mass shooting[.]” (Id. at 6; Compl., ECF No. 1 ¶ 38.) Governor Hochul also directed the OAG to “investigate various online platforms for ‘civil or criminal liability for their role in promoting, facilitating, or providing a platform to plan or promote violence.” (Id.)
On October 18, 2022, the OAG released a report detailing its findings. (Sawyer Decl., ECF No. 20 ¶ 3.) In the associated press release, Defendant stated that “[o]nline platforms should be held accountable for allowing hateful and dangerous content to spread on their platforms” because an alleged “lack of oversight, transparency, and accountability of these platforms allows hateful and extremist views to proliferate online.” (Compl., ECF No. 1 ¶ 3.)
- C. The Hateful Conduct Law
The Hateful Conduct Law, entitled “Social media networks; hateful conduct prohibited” went into effect on December 3, 2022. The law applies to “Social media network(s)”[1], and defines “Hateful conduct” as:
- ↑ “Social media network” is defined as “service providers, which, for profit-making purposes, operate internet platforms that are designed to enable users to share any content with other users or to make such content available to the public.” N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 394-ccc(1)(b). Defendant does not challenge Plaintiffs’ assertion that they have standing to sue, but Defendant reserves the right to do so in the future. (Def.’s Opp’n, ECF No. 21 at 6, n.3.)
3
