Status as of October 31, 2026. No bill carrying any of our proposals has been introduced, and no legislator has agreed to author one. All five proposals are drafts in research. We will mark a bill as introduced only after it appears on the Legislature's official site, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, and we will link to that record.
How to read this page
- Research: we are studying current law, other states and likely objections.
- Drafting: we have a written proposal and are asking experts to criticize it.
- Seeking an author: the proposal is ready to bring to legislators.
- Introduced, in committee, passed, signed: official stages, shown only with a link to the official record.
Every proposal below is a California state proposal. Two federal rules limit all of them: Section 230 and the First Amendment. Our proposals page explains how each one is designed to work within them.
1. Fast falsity ruling
| Stage | Drafting. Revised October 31, 2026 after an outside critique about serving anonymous authors. |
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| Jurisdiction | California courts and Legislature |
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| Current law | Defamation suits against the author; Doe pleading (Code Civ. Proc. § 474); court ordered service (§ 413.30, amended effective January 1, 2026 to allow email); Hassell v. Bird (2018) 5 Cal.5th 522; Balboa Island Village Inn v. Lemen (2007) 40 Cal.4th 1141 |
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| Proposed change | A low cost proceeding, with no damages, to decide whether one exact statement is false and defamatory, with service safeguards and labeled uncontested rulings |
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| Legislative activity | None |
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2. No paying to remove
| Stage | Research. Narrowed October 31, 2026 to the pay to remove business model. |
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| Jurisdiction | California Legislature |
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| Current law | Booking photo removal fees banned (Civ. Code § 1798.91.1); extortion prosecutions such as People v. Bollaert (2016) 248 Cal.App.4th 699 |
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| Proposed change | A civil claim and public enforcement against sites that charge private people, directly or through partners, to remove damaging content about them |
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| Legislative activity | None |
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3. Unmasking anonymous attackers
| Stage | Research |
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| Jurisdiction | California courts and Legislature |
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| Current law | Krinsky v. Doe 6 (2008) 159 Cal.App.4th 1154; motions to quash (Code Civ. Proc. § 1987.1) and fee awards (§ 1987.2) |
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| Proposed change | Write the existing court test into a clear procedure with standard forms, notice to the poster and deadlines |
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| Legislative activity | None |
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4. Anti SLAPP fairness
| Stage | Research |
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| Jurisdiction | California Legislature |
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| Current law | Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16 (mandatory fees for a winning defendant) and § 425.17 (exemptions) |
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| Proposed change | Court discretion to reduce fee awards against private individuals with good faith claims about their private lives; no change for speech on public issues |
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| Legislative activity | None |
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5. Doxxing
| Stage | Research |
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| Jurisdiction | California Legislature |
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| Current law | Pen. Code § 653.2; stalking tort (Civ. Code § 1708.7); federal 18 U.S.C. § 2261A; civil claim since 2025 (Civ. Code § 1708.89, AB 1979); models: Washington RCW 4.24.792, Oregon ORS 30.835 |
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| Proposed change | Amend § 1708.89 so the intent standard is provable (intent or knowledge that the information will be used to stalk, harass or injure), with protection for public interest reporting |
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| Legislative activity | None for our proposal. Related: AB 2624 (Bonta), Chapter 117, Statutes of 2026, approved August 22, 2026, creates an address confidentiality program with online posting protections for immigration support service workers and volunteers, starting October 1, 2027. It is not our bill and we had no role in it. |
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The calendar ahead
| Date | What happens |
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| November 30, 2026 | The 2025 to 2026 session ends. |
| December 7, 2026 | The new Legislature convenes and the 2027 session begins. |
| February 2027 | Expected deadline to introduce bills. The official 2027 calendar is not yet published. |
| Spring to fall 2027 | Committee hearings, floor votes, then the Governor's decision on any bill that passes. |
Change log
- October 31, 2026, evening. Corrected Proposal 5: California already has a civil doxxing claim (Civ. Code § 1708.89, since 2025). The proposal now amends it. Corrected the description of AB 2624.
- October 31, 2026. Tracker published. Proposal 1 revised to address service on anonymous authors. Proposal 2 narrowed. Proposal 5 redrafted as a civil claim modeled on Oregon's law.
Spot an error, or know of a bill we should list? Tell us.