ATLANTA—Today, NetChoice is at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to defend the victory we secured last year against Georgia’s unconstitutional amendments to its state-level INFORM statute in Act 564 while our case, NetChoice v. Carr (Georgia INFORM Act), moves through the legal system.
Livestream is available HERE beginning at 9:00 AM Eastern Time.
By amending a law that conflicts with the federal INFORM Act, Georgia ignored Congress, redirecting the focus of digital marketplace operators away from stopping organized retail criminals to imposing burdensome regulations on small online sellers. NetChoice successfully argued this in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and won a temporary halt of the law in July 2024.
“NetChoice was victorious in district court, and we’re confident we will win here. Congress specifically enacted the federal INFORM Act to establish a uniform framework and stop the emerging state patchwork of confusing and conflicting online marketplace reporting regulations,” said Paul Taske, Co-Director of the NetChoice Litigation Center.
“Georgia’s amendments both ignore federal law and do nothing to combat—let alone stop—organized retail crime. If anything, Act 564 undermines free enterprise by threatening marketplaces where many small businesses find and grow their customer base. We’re confident the Eleventh Circuit will agree and keep the law on pause as our case proceeds.”
As the Court noted in its opinion:
“Because Act 564 is preempted, Georgia has no interest in its enforcement and, to the extent public interest is implicated, it can only be harmed by the enforcement of a preempted state law.”
The State of Georgia appealed in July 2024. This hearing is the next step in the case.
Read the U.S. District Court’s opinion, ruling in favor of NetChoice, here.
Find case resources for NetChoice v. Carr (Georgia INFORM Act) here.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.