SAN JOSE, Calif.—Today, NetChoice will have a hearing in our lawsuit to halt California’s INFORM Act amendments, another unconstitutional, failing power grab from the Golden State of government overreach.
The hearing begins at 9:00 AM Pacific Time/12:00 PM Eastern Time at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building & United States Courthouse. There is no livestream available.
SB 1144 contradicts the federal INFORM Act—enacted just two years ago to create a uniform national standard for online marketplaces—by imposing additional requirements on platforms, making it more difficult for them to serve sellers and buyers in the Golden State. The federal law includes a preemption clause that prohibits states from enacting conflicting rules, and California’s amendments are a clear violation of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
If allowed to go into effect, California’s onerous requirements will also hurt American competition and innovative offerings from online marketplaces—disproportionately punishing small businesses and putting them at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of the nation, while failing to do anything to stop organized retail criminals.
“California’s INFORM Act amendments blatantly violate federal law, and NetChoice is confident the court will agree,” said Paul Taske, NetChoice Associate Director of Litigation. “Congress passed the INFORM Act to set one clear national standard for online marketplaces. By enacting these amendments, California ignored both Congress and the Constitution while adding needless red tape. They will punish the small businesses and marketplaces fueling our digital economy,”
Taske continued: “Instead of investing in law enforcement, California is trying to sneak in an unconstitutional regulation that would do nothing to counter the retail crime California claims to be concerned about while simultaneously hurting entrepreneurs and the digital economy.”
Watch Taske discussing the lawsuit HERE.
Key Takeaways of NetChoice v. Bonta (California INFORM Act):
- Ignores Real Crimes: California’s INFORM Act amendments fail to address organized retail crime. Instead, they penalize marketplaces and impose burdens on lawful business and speech.
- Violates Constitution’s Supremacy Clause: California is attempting to exercise authority that Congress took for itself when it passed the federal INFORM Act just two years ago, a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
- Dismantles Congress’ National Framework: If California succeeds, it will eviscerate the national framework Congress sought to create, and a patchwork system for regulating online marketplaces will emerge once again.
- Violates First Amendment Rights: SB 1144 violates the First Amendment by restricting the ability of sellers to disseminate lawful speech and buyers to receive it. It also violates platforms’ right over editorial discretion outlined in Moody v. NetChoice.
- Forces Unlawful Monitoring and Censorship: SB 1144 imposes a monitoring and censorship requirement on platforms to review all posts or face a significant liability for failure to remove content and sellers who refuse to submit the Act’s required documentation, violating Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
- Hurts Small Businesses While Ignoring Criminals: SB 1144 does nothing to address the underlying issue—ensuring law enforcement has the necessary resources to put retail thieves in jail. Instead, it hurts small, online businesses.
- Weakens Existing Law Enforcement Prosecution Tools: In fact, California’s law would undermine its intended purpose and make it more difficult for law enforcement to prosecute retail thieves by foreclosing the ability to rely on evidence provided by the marketplaces.
You can find case resources for NetChoice v. Bonta (2025) HERE.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.