Sacramento Report: A Privacy Protection Bill Unleashes an Online Flurry on the Right
Sacramento Report: A Privacy Protection Bill Unleashes an Online Flurry on the Right
Publish Date: 2026-04-24 17:05:00
Source Domain: voiceofsandiego.org
Right-wing operatives unleashed a firestorm inside the Capitol halls this week.
For weeks, a bill that would strengthen privacy protections for immigrant service workers stirred controversy online among some conservatives over fears that it would stifle First Amendment rights before it was taken up at a committee hearing this week.
Assembly Bill 2624 expands on a 25-year-old state protection program that allows victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse to keep their residential addresses confidential by providing a substitute mailing address to the secretary of state’s office.
The legislation by Assemblymember Mia Bonta would broaden the eligibility to include people who provide legal, health or other social services to immigrants and ban their private information from being shared online if intended to incite harassment or violence if they are in the program. Violations would be a civil offense and give those affected the right to sue.
However, it has spurred anxiety among Republicans over concerns that it would stop independent ‘citizen journalists’ from investigating fraud accusations. The pushback has included calls from GOP lawmakers for a special session on the issue and ire from non-Californians such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Trump administration officials.
Republicans have coined it the “Stop the Nick Shirley Act,” although the bill does not name the conservative activist and content creator whose videos about Somali-operated Minnesota day care centers spurred an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Shirley also visited several Somali-run day care centers in San Diego where he accused owners of running “ghost facilities” with no children present.
At a public safety hearing earlier this week, immigrants rights groups advocates filled the room and the testimony overwhelmingly supported the bill. It’s intended to protect workers who help immigrants from being targeted, but many advocates were…
