Rumble Challenges New York Social Media Law

12/01/2022

Lawsuit seeks to block new law that targets constitutionally protected online speech by calling it “hateful conduct”

New York, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2022 – Rumble, the video-sharing platform (NASDAQ: RUM) and its
subscription platform Locals filed a lawsuit today against New York Attorney General Letitia
James to challenge a new state law that forces social media platforms to target constitutionally
protected speech.

The law forces a wide variety of internet platforms to publish a policy explaining how they will
respond to online expression that could be perceived to “vilify, humiliate, or incite violence”
based on a protected class, like religion, gender, or race. The law does not define “vilify,”
“humiliate,” or “incite,” meaning it would cover constitutionally protected speech like jokes,
satire, political debates, and other online commentary. The law also requires platforms to
create a way for visitors to complain about “hateful content” and mandates that they answer
complaints with a direct response. Refusal to comply could mean investigations from the
Attorney General’s office, subpoenas, and daily fines of $1,000 per violation.

Rumble and Locals are represented in the lawsuit by the Foundation for Individual Rights and
Expression (FIRE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual
rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought. Rumble and Locals are joined in the
lawsuit by constitutional law professor Eugene Volokh, the co-founder of the Volokh Conspiracy
legal blog.

“New York’s law would open the door for the suppression of protected speech based on the
complaints of activists and bullies” said Rumble Chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovski.  “Rumble
will always celebrate freedom and support creative independence, so I’m delighted to work with
FIRE to help protect lawful online expression.”

ABOUT RUMBLE
Rumble is a high-growth neutral video platform that is creating the rails and independent
infrastructure designed to be immune to cancel culture. Rumble’s mission is to restore the
Internet to its roots by making it free and open once again. For more information,
visit corp.rumble.com.