California’s newest speech law may be narrower than critics say. But the first draft — plus Gavin Newsom’s recent history — tells you why nobody should relax.
California tried to pass a law squelching dissident speech. Again. People are finally noticing.
Governor Gavin Newsom last week signed Assembly Bill 2624, aptly dubbed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.” The law establishes special privacy protections for qualifying “immigration-service workers” who claim threats or harassment. It also creates a formal process letting those workers demand restrictions on publication of their “personal information” and images — including names, employment, photographs, and video.
The First Amendment was written for precisely this sort of piggish government.
Shirley says this creates an obvious problem for investigative journalism. He’s right.
Suppose he investigates a taxpayer-funded hospice or nonprofit, films the people running it, and asks uncomfortable questions about where the money went. Under his reading of the law, one of those people could hand him a written demand not to publish his name or image. If Shirley publishes anyway and the subject claims fear or receives threats, Shirley says he could face legal consequences simply for reporting what he found.
