New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has unveiled a plan to combat “hate crimes” online, particularly in response to antisemitism.
The initiative includes expanding social media analysis to identify threats and criminal activity, with a focus on school violence threats, gang activity, and illegal firearms.
Hochul also mentioned police outreach to individuals engaging in what she deems “hate speech” on social media.
Kathy Hochul announced that New York is "collecting data" from "surveillance efforts" on social media
Hochul says the social media analysis unit will contact people who commit "hate speech"
This is to "ensure safety" Even though they got rid of Guiliani's Stop and Frisk which… pic.twitter.com/QjlPiXfRpz
— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) November 13, 2023
However, the plan raises concerns about how “hate” is defined and who determines it, potentially infringing on privacy and freedom of speech.
“Let me be clear: we cannot allow hate and intimidation to become normalized. As Governor, I reaffirm that there is zero tolerance in New York for antisemitism, Islamophobia, or hate of any kind, and it’s critical we deploy every possible state resource to keep New Yorkers safe,” Hochul announced.
“The New York State Police use publicly available social media activity and posts to assist in identifying credible criminal activity happening in the state,” the plan added.
“But the pool of information is so large and rapidly changing that the State Police’s current efforts only scratch the surface of what is possible to detect and interdict.”
“Governor Hochul announced an addition $700,000 enhancing the Social Media Analysis Unit at the NYSIC by staffing a team of analysts to perform daily analysis of publicly available social media activity — particularly that which pertains to school violence threats, gang activity, and illegal firearms — to tie information back to existing criminal investigations, initiate new investigations, and communicate information on threats to appropriate field personnel,” the plan stated.
“We’re very focused on the data we’re collecting from surveillance efforts, what’s being said on social media platforms,” Hochul pressed.
“We have launched an effort to be able to counter some of the negativity and reach out to people when we see hate speech being spoken about on online platforms.
The move is part of a broader trend in which Democrats and leftists have been exposed in targeting the free speech of center-right Americans.
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