NY law now requires social media platforms to submit reports

Social media companies must start reporting their content moderation policies to the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, as required by the Stop Hiding Hate Act.

This law, sponsored by state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and state Assembly member Grace Lee, and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, requires social media platforms to submit biannual reports on how their policies deal with hate speech, racism, misinformation, and other types of content.

The law applies to any social media company operating in New York that generates over $100 million in gross annual revenue.

Social media companies can submit their content moderation reports online by Jan. 1.

“With violence and polarization on the rise, social media companies must ensure that their platforms don’t fuel hateful rhetoric and disinformation,” James said in a news release.

“The Stop Hiding Hate Act requires social media companies to share their content moderation policies publicly and with my office to ensure that these companies are more transparent about how they are addressing harmful content on their platforms,” she said.

“This legislation builds on our efforts to improve safety online and marks an important step to increase transparency and accountability,” Hochul said.

In December 2024, the Stop Hiding Hate Act was signed into law in an attempt to ensure that social media companies are more transparent and accountable for content on their platforms.

The law requires social media companies to biannually submit their terms of service reports to the Attorney General’s office.

The reports must include statements on the terms of services and how they define hate speech or racism, extremism or radicalization, disinformation or misinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference.

The companies also must state how they enforce those policies, steps taken, and data on flagged and items of content that resulted in action.

Key Requirements of the Act include:

• Companies must publish their terms of service in clear, accessible language and provide contact details for user questions.
• Platforms must clearly describe how users can report violations of the terms of service.
• Companies must detail the potential actions they may take against policy violations, such as removing posts or deprioritizing their visibility.

In their biannual reports, social media companies must provide specific data, such as:

• The total number of posts flagged as potential policy violations.
• The total number of posts on which the company took action.
• Details on the specific actions, such as removal, demonetization, or deprioritization.

Social media companies that fail to post their terms of service, submit a required report, or file a materially incomplete or misleading report may face a civil penalty of up to $15,000 per violation per day.

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