CONTACT: PRESS@NETCHOICE.ORG
SAN FRANCISCO—Today, NetChoice filed a lawsuit to stop California’s law mandating that online companies track users, restrict access to speech and jeopardize their safety.
SB 976, passed and signed into law this year, will force covered companies to create barriers to Californians accessing lawful information unless they hand over sensitive documents and identification. The law’s unequal enforcement standards reveal that it’s less about protecting kids online and more about censoring speech online, surveilling citizens online and targeting disfavored businesses.
If it goes into effect, SB 976 would thwart speech rights and endanger the safety, security and protected rights of all its citizens—especially children. NetChoice is suing to halt it while our case proceeds in court.
“SB 976 violates free speech rights and jeopardizes the safety and security of all Californians. NetChoice is confident this law will be stopped in court,” said Paul Taske, NetChoice Associate Director of Litigation. “Not only does SB 976 restrict access to information conditioned on the willingness to hand over sensitive information, but it requires companies to continually track minors—and send reports to the government annually. This risks all Californians’ safety online, and it creates more opportunities for criminals and predators to target and compromise minors’ information on covered services. And by preventing websites from providing personalized displays, SB 976 would prevent websites from offering age-appropriate content. It is a mandate for censorship that does nothing to advance online safety. We look forward to halting it in court.”
SB 976 is set to go into effect on January 1, 2025. Read the complaint here.
Top Takeaways of NetChoice v. Bonta (2024):
- Tramples Over Free Speech: SB 976 disregards the First Amendment because it conditions Californians’ right to access protected speech online on whether they hand over their sensitive, personal data.
- Mandates the Surveillance of Families Online: The government is mandating that companies verify identities just to access an online service, verify parental information at multiple levels if applicable, and collect massive amounts of data on how a young Californian is using that service. Online businesses are additionally required by law to store this data and report it to the government regularly. This is a backdoor requirement for online surveillance by California’s government.
- Risks all Californians’ safety and security online: SB 976 will create a honeypot of sensitive information that will be a prime target for cybercriminals and predators to attack and exploit. It harms the security of all internet users, especially minors, which already suffer as prime targets of data breaches and identity theft. Ransomware attacks affected 2.9 million American students in 2023, an increase of over 144% from the previous year. This law will make it worse.
- Gives partial treatment to exempt the government’s favored companies: The unequal compliance and enforcement standards of SB 976 reveal the true nature of the law: it isn’t about protecting kids online—it’s about punishing politically disfavored businesses like social media companies and major channels where Americans access information and engage in speech.
Read NetChoice’s complaint HERE and the request for a preliminary injunction HERE. Learn more about NetChoice v. Bonta (2024) here.
Read Kenneth Schrupp of The Center Square‘s exclusive piece on our lawsuit here.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.