N.Y. AG Didn’t Violate Injunction Against Hateful Conduct Law, 2nd Circuit Told

The U.S. District Court for Southern New York has denied the motion of three plaintiff-appellees to enforce the preliminary injunction order that bars New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) from enforcing the state’s hateful conduct law, Sarah Coco, assistant solicitor general in James’ office, wrote the clerk of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Appeals Court in a Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28(j) letter Thursday (23-356). James’ 2nd Circuit appeal seeks to lift the injunction, but the appeal is being held in abeyance, pending the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in NetChoice’s First Amendment challenges to the Texas and Florida social media content moderation laws (see 2402230077). The New York law, Section 394-ccc, requires social media networks to give users a mechanism for reporting hateful conduct on the platforms. The law also requires the networks to disclose a policy explaining how they will respond to those user reports. The three plaintiff-appellees -- UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, plus the Rumble Canada and Locals Technology online networks -- contended in their motion that James violated the injunction by sending voluntary requests for information to social media networks, including plaintiff Rumble Canada, said Coco’s letter. According to the plaintiff-appellees’ motion, James improperly sought information about the networks’ responses to the proliferation of calls for violence against Jewish and Muslim people on social media in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, said the letter. But the district court’s denial of the motion absolved James of any wrongdoing, said the letter.