The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law abridging (curtailing) the freedom of speech. Thus, free speech is only protected by the U.S. Constitution when it is the government that seeks to limit free speech. And the First Amendment is inapplicable when a nongovernmental person or entity—such as a social media company—seeks to limit free speech. But despite the legal authority of social media companies to regulate speech on their platforms, there is an ongoing debate about whether such companies should regulate speech, and if so, the extent and manner in which they should do so.

In New York, as in the rest of the United States, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects individuals from government censorship or punishment for their speech. However, this protection does not extend to private entities, including social media companies. These companies are legally permitted to regulate speech on their platforms, as they are considered private actors and not subject to the First Amendment's restrictions on government action. The debate in New York mirrors the national conversation about the role of social media companies in regulating speech, with concerns about censorship, misinformation, and the balance between free expression and community standards. While the government cannot compel these companies to follow the First Amendment, there is ongoing discussion about potential regulations that could influence how these platforms manage speech, with proposals ranging from changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to new state-level regulations.