Reform Section 230, punish users spreading online hate: New York AG
Enlarge (credit: YUKI IWAMURA / Contributor | AFP)
On a mission to stop young men from being increasingly radicalized online, New York Attorney General Letitia James suggested today a new strategy to stop online hate from spreading: Punish anyone who reposts content created by those who commit homicide.
Her potentially First Amendment-infringing policy reform recommendation comes after the Bureau of Internet and Technology and the Hate Crimes Unit of the Civil Rights Bureau conducted an investigation into how online platforms-including Reddit, Discord, 4chan, 8chan, Twitch, and YouTube-helped a white gunman prepare and then murder 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York, during a mass shooting in May.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, the gunman's content, including snippets of his manifesto, was shared across mainstream platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Among other solutions proposed, James and New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that they want lawmakers to establish a civil liability so that no one shares extremist content, which can potentially inspire copycats.