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California Immigration Privacy Bill Prompts Free-Speech Clash

The measure would punish online posting of immigration service workers’ personal information with fines or jail time.

Overview

  • AB 2624 from Assemblymember Mia Bonta would bar posting the personal data or images of immigration support workers when meant to harass.
  • Offenses could bring fines up to $10,000 or a year in jail, rising to $50,000 and potential felony charges if the posting leads to bodily harm.
  • The proposal would also create a Secretary of State program to keep these workers’ home addresses confidential.
  • Republican critics, calling it the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” argue it would chill citizen journalism and could be used to shield alleged fraud.
  • Bonta says it targets doxxing, not reporting, as YouTuber Nick Shirley denounced the bill and confronted Democratic lawmakers at the Capitol, and the measure still awaits further Assembly hearings.