SAN JOSE, Calif.—Today, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California will hear NetChoice’s request to halt California SB 976 as our case proceeds through the legal system. SB 976 mandates that online companies track all users, restrict their access to speech and jeopardize their safety.
The hearing begins at 9:00 AM Pacific Time at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. There is not a livestream available.
The law is set to go into effect on January 1, 2025.
“SB 976 is California’s latest attempt to throttle the free flow of information online. The law restricts access to free speech and empowers government officials to keep tabs on Californians’ digital lives. NetChoice is suing to stop this overreach,” said Paul Taske, NetChoice Associate Director of Litigation. “SB 976 is a censorship mandate that fails to enhance online safety, and in fact actively weakens the security and protected rights of all Californians—especially children. We are confident the Court will agree.”
Read NetChoice’s request for a preliminary injunction here and learn more about NetChoice v. Bonta (2024) 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.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.