On Wednesday, August 26th, 2026, Judge John Cronan of the Southern District of New York ruled in the case X Corp. v. James, upholding a New York state law that requires social media companies to transparently disclose their terms of service and report on how content moderation policies are enforced.

The law mandates that social media platforms post their terms of service in a manner designed to inform all users of their existence and contents. These publicly posted terms must include contact information for user inquiries, a description of the process for flagging content or users believed to violate the terms, commitments on response and resolution times, and a list of potential actions the platform may take against content or users.

Additionally, social media companies must submit a semiannual "Terms of Service Report" to the New York attorney general, who will make these reports publicly available in a searchable online repository. The report must include the current terms of service, detailed descriptions of any changes since the previous report, and information on content moderation practices.

Specifically, the "Content Category Report Provisions" require platforms to disclose whether their terms define categories such as hate speech, extremism, disinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference. The reports must also provide data on flagged content, actions taken, removals or demotions, user views and shares of actioned content, and statistics on appeals and reversals of moderation decisions.

The court applied Zauderer scrutiny, which requires compelled commercial disclosures to be factual and uncontroversial. Although the law's opponents argued that the disclosures could generate public controversy and dissatisfaction among users, the court found this argument unpersuasive, noting that any compelled commercial disclosure could provoke similar reactions.

Judge Cronan concluded that the provisions are reasonably related to New York's interest in preventing consumer deception and ensuring transparency, and are neither unjustified nor unduly burdensome.

This ruling marks a significant affirmation of state authority to require transparency from social media platforms regarding their content moderation policies and practices.

Sources

  • Eugene Volokh, "Court Upholds N.Y. Law Mandating Platforms Post Terms of Service and Report How Content Moderation Policies Have Been Enforced," Reason, August 26, 2026. Read more