It has become quite clear that we are living in a day and age where political and ideological polarization has reached an absolute fever pitch. In spite of the fact that this is the case, it appears that organizations from across the spectrum, including both right and left wing institutions, seem to have a serious problem with a new hate speech law that has been proposed in the state of New York.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this law will essentially compel social media platforms such as Facebook, X and the like to provide tools to users that can be used to send out complaints related to hate speech. Furthermore, the law will require these companies to disclose the actions that they have taken to tackle the incident in question.
In spite of the fact that this is the case, some experts have commented that the term hate speech is far too vague. Many are saying that this law goes against the constitution of the United States of America because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up leading to hate speech complaints that would be difficult to discern the veracity of.
The impetus behind this bill is an act of racial violence that shocked the nation, when a white supremacist murdered 10 African Americans at a grocery store. This random act of violence spurred lawmakers to start working on a bill that would have the potential to curb hate speech, but both right and left wing ideologues are criticizing it for not being effective with all things having been considered and taken into account.
The statute specifically mentions hateful conduct, but its emphasis on the conduct that is conducted online rather than the real world might be the source of the criticism. It will be interesting to see if this bipartisan rejection of the bill has any impact on its ability to get passed into law, as well as the implications it will have on future regulations.
Illustration: vectorjuice
Read next: Cyberattack Prevention Requires AI and Humans to Work Together
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this law will essentially compel social media platforms such as Facebook, X and the like to provide tools to users that can be used to send out complaints related to hate speech. Furthermore, the law will require these companies to disclose the actions that they have taken to tackle the incident in question.
In spite of the fact that this is the case, some experts have commented that the term hate speech is far too vague. Many are saying that this law goes against the constitution of the United States of America because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up leading to hate speech complaints that would be difficult to discern the veracity of.
The impetus behind this bill is an act of racial violence that shocked the nation, when a white supremacist murdered 10 African Americans at a grocery store. This random act of violence spurred lawmakers to start working on a bill that would have the potential to curb hate speech, but both right and left wing ideologues are criticizing it for not being effective with all things having been considered and taken into account.
The statute specifically mentions hateful conduct, but its emphasis on the conduct that is conducted online rather than the real world might be the source of the criticism. It will be interesting to see if this bipartisan rejection of the bill has any impact on its ability to get passed into law, as well as the implications it will have on future regulations.
Read next: Cyberattack Prevention Requires AI and Humans to Work Together
