How the US regulates online speech

New York Hateful Conduct Law (General Business Law 394-ccc) requires social-media networks to publish a policy on hateful conduct and give users a way to report it, enforced by the attorney general. A court enjoined it in 2023 as compelled speech, and the case is still working through appeal.

1. Dec 2022 New York enacted the Hateful Conduct Law after the Buffalo mass shooting, requiring platforms to post a hateful-conduct policy and reporting tool. rcfp.org
2. Feb 2023 A federal court enjoined the law, holding it likely compels speech in violation of the First Amendment. law.justia.com
3. Jun 2026 New York highest court ruled the law likely survives the First Amendment if read narrowly, sending it back to the Second Circuit. news.bloomberglaw.com

Minnesota 2023 deepfake law (Statute 609.771) makes it a crime to share realistic election deepfakes within 90 days of an election with intent to injure a candidate. A First Amendment challenge failed to win an injunction: the district court declined in 2025 and the Eighth Circuit affirmed in 2026, so the law remains in force.

1. May 2023 Minnesota enacted the deepfake election law (HF 1370). revisor.mn.gov
2. Jan 2025 A federal court declined to block the law, ruling the challengers had not shown the required harm. reason.com
3. Feb 2026 The Eighth Circuit affirmed, leaving the law in force while the challenge continues. reason.com

Florida Senate Bill 7072 restricts how large platforms moderate, deplatform, and prioritize content, including barring them from deplatforming political candidates. A federal court blocked it, the Eleventh Circuit largely agreed, and in 2024 the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the case, leaving it on hold.

1. May 2021 Florida enacted SB 7072, restricting platform moderation and barring deplatforming of political candidates. congress.gov
2. Jun 2021 A federal court blocked the law; the Eleventh Circuit later agreed it largely violates the First Amendment. congress.gov
3. Jul 2024 The Supreme Court vacated and remanded the case, leaving enforcement paused. supremecourt.gov

Texas House Bill 20 bars large social-media platforms from removing or demoting content based on a user viewpoint, a must-carry rule challenged as compelled speech. Courts blocked it before it took effect, and in 2024 the Supreme Court signaled it likely violates the First Amendment and sent it back to the lower courts.

1. Sep 2021 Texas enacted HB 20, barring large platforms from moderating content based on viewpoint. congress.gov
2. Dec 2021 A federal district court blocked the law before it took effect. congress.gov
3. Jul 2024 The Supreme Court in Moody v. NetChoice signaled the law likely violates the First Amendment and remanded it, leaving enforcement paused. supremecourt.gov

California AB 2655, part of the Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act, required large platforms to block or label materially deceptive election deepfakes and build reporting systems. A federal judge struck it down in 2025, holding it preempted by Section 230.

1. Sep 2024 California enacted AB 2655, requiring platforms to block or label election deepfakes. gov.ca.gov
2. Aug 2025 A federal judge struck the law down as preempted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. conference-board.org

California AB 2839 let candidates and others sue over materially deceptive election deepfakes during an election window. A judge enjoined it within weeks in 2024 and struck it down in 2025 as a content-based restriction that hinders satire and protected political speech.

1. Sep 2024 California enacted AB 2839, creating liability for sharing deceptive election deepfakes. gov.ca.gov
2. Oct 2024 A federal judge preliminarily enjoined the law as likely violating the First Amendment. reason.com
3. Aug 2025 The court struck the law down, finding it an unconstitutional content-based restriction. reason.com

California AB 587 requires large social-media companies to publish their content-moderation policies and file semiannual reports on how they handle categories like hate speech and disinformation. In 2024 the Ninth Circuit blocked the contested reporting provisions as compelled speech, and California dropped them in a 2025 settlement.

1. Sep 2022 California enacted AB 587, a content-moderation transparency mandate for large platforms. rcfp.org
2. Sep 2024 The Ninth Circuit held the contested content-category reporting provisions likely violate the First Amendment and blocked them. rcfp.org
3. Feb 2025 California settled and dropped the enjoined provisions, leaving the basic transparency requirements in force. aei.org

The TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed in May 2025, makes it a federal crime to publish nonconsensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes, and requires online platforms to remove flagged images within 48 hours of a valid request. Digital-rights groups warn the broad takedown system, with no counter-notice process and a tight deadline, could push platforms to over-remove lawful speech such as journalism, legal adult content, and other material.

1. May 2025 The President signed the TAKE IT DOWN Act, criminalizing nonconsensual intimate images including AI deepfakes and requiring platforms to remove them within 48 hours of a request. congress.gov
2. May 2026 Platform notice-and-removal requirements took effect; rights groups warned the broad takedown system could lead to over-removal of lawful speech. dwt.com

The Antisemitism Awareness Act (S.558 / H.R.1007) is a proposed US federal law that would require the Department of Education to use the IHRA working definition of antisemitism when enforcing Title VI on campuses. Supporters including the ADL say it gives schools a clear standard for addressing harassment; critics including FIRE, the ACLU, and the IHRA definition author Kenneth Stern warn it would pressure schools to punish protected speech, especially criticism of Israel. It passed the House in 2024 but stalled in the Senate over those concerns and was reintroduced in 2025. More than 30 states have separately adopted the IHRA definition.

1. May 2024 The House passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act 320-91; it was not taken up by the Senate. en.wikipedia.org
2. Feb 2025 The bill was reintroduced in the 119th Congress with First Amendment language. congress.gov
3. May 2025 A Senate committee added free-speech amendments, after which some backers threatened to abandon the bill; it stalled. commondreams.org

The Kids Online Safety Act is a proposed US federal law that would impose a duty of care on online platforms to prevent harms to minors such as content promoting suicide, eating disorders, and sexual exploitation. It passed the Senate 91-3 in 2024 but stalled in the House over First Amendment concerns, and critics including the ACLU and EFF warn it could push platforms to over-remove lawful speech. It remained stalled in both chambers as of 2026.

1. Jul 2024 KOSA passed the US Senate 91-3 but stalled in the House over First Amendment and censorship concerns. er.educause.edu
2. May 2025 Senators reintroduced KOSA with a viewpoint-neutrality clause meant to address free-speech objections. er.educause.edu
3. Mar 2026 A House version folded KOSA into a broader bill that dropped its core duty of care, while KOSA stayed stalled in the Senate. rollcall.com

The STOP CSAM Act is a proposed US federal bill that would create a civil cause of action against online platforms over child sexual abuse material and narrow their Section 230 immunity. Civil-liberties groups warn the liability standard could pressure platforms to weaken encryption and over-remove lawful content. The Senate Judiciary Committee renewed work on it in 2025.

1. 2023 The STOP CSAM Act was first introduced by Senators Durbin and Hawley. iapp.org
2. Feb 2025 The Senate Judiciary Committee renewed work on the bill, focused on a private right of action and Section 230 carve-outs. iapp.org