ALBANY, N.Y.—Today, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new dangerous and unconstitutional bill into law, imposing draconian rules for online access that usurp parents and violate the First Amendment rights of all New Yorkers.
“This is an assault on free speech and the open internet by the State of New York,” said Carl Szabo, NetChoice Vice President & General Counsel. “New York has created a way for the government to track what sites people visit and their online activity by forcing websites to censor all content unless visitors provide an ID to verify their age.”
“The law will also increase children’s exposure to harmful content by requiring websites to order feeds chronologically, prioritizing recent posts about sensitive topics. NetChoice has defeated similar unconstitutional bills in three other states, where the judges in each of those cases highlighted the serious First Amendment and privacy concerns with this type of legislation,” Szabo continued. “Parents—not politicians—should be making the rules for their families.”
This new law is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech and information access. It requires websites to block access unless visitors go through intrusive age and identity verification, directly infringing on the rights of both websites and internet users.
Beyond violating the First Amendment, the law undermines parents’ rights by substituting heavy-handed government control of when and how New Yorkers can view online content.
The requirements also create alarming privacy risks by mandating data collection on all visitors, effectively creating “dossiers” of every New Yorker’s browsing history that the state can access. “If someone reads something the Governor doesn’t approve of, the state will know,” Szabo noted.
The open internet drives economic growth and free expression. Allowing government parenting, censorship and tracking online is a dire threat to core American principles and family values.
Read more about New York’s new censorship law at New York Daily News from Chris Marchese, NetChoice’s Litigation Center Director.
Please contact Krista Chavez at press@netchoice.org with inquiries.