Overview
- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2624 in late August to allow immigration support services providers to enroll in California’s Safe at Home address‑confidentiality program so their home addresses are removed from public records.
- The law makes it unlawful to post an enrolled participant’s address, image, or personal data online with the specific intent to incite imminent great bodily harm and authorizes at least $4,000 in statutory civil damages for violations.
- Opponents, led by independent journalist Nick Shirley and several Republican lawmakers, held rallies at the state Capitol on Aug. 26 to warn the measure will chill investigative reporting and to threaten legal tests of the law.
- A group of House Republicans formally asked the U.S. Department of Justice on Aug. 28 to review AB 2624 and consider blocking its enforcement, while conservative legal groups and other litigants have signaled plans for court challenges.
- Newsom’s backers and bill author Mia Bonta say the law responds to doxxing and threats against workers, critics point to Bonta’s ties to Attorney General Rob Bonta and to possible limits on scrutiny of publicly funded groups, and outlets on the right and left frame the dispute very differently.