California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief opposing the U.S. Department of Justice's subpoena for patient records from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center related to gender-affirming care. The brief argues that the subpoena violates patient privacy, infringes on states' rights to regulate medicine, and exceeds DOJ's statutory authority.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements involving the handling of sensitive health data, particularly vendor and data processing agreements with healthcare providers, hospitals, and medical service organizations. Specific clauses to scrutinize include those governing data disclosure and sharing, responses to government subpoenas or legal requests, patient consent requirements (especially for minors), confidentiality obligations, and compliance with both federal (e.g., HIPAA) and state-specific privacy laws. Given the focus on gender-affirming care for adolescents, contracts should be assessed for provisions that may allow broad disclosure without explicit, informed consent or adequate safeguards for sensitive health information. Teams may need to negotiate stricter consent mechanisms, require prior notice before complying with subpoenas, implement data minimization and anonymization protocols, and ensure alignment with state laws that may offer greater privacy protections than federal baseline requirements.
Entity
U.S. Department of Justice
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-opposes-further-attempts-us-doj-subpoena-hospital-records
55 1 Shapiro et al Amicus Brief (WDPA 25 1069)
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/55-1%20-%20Shapiro%20et%20al%20Amicus%20Brief%20%28WDPA%2025-1069%29.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ)"
"federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)"
"Tenth Amendment of the Constitution"
"the subpoena violates patients’ privacy"
California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief to quash a U.S. DOJ administrative subpoena seeking sensitive medical records and personally identifying information of adolescent patients receiving gender-affirming care at Children's Hospital Colorado. The brief argues the subpoena violates states' rights to regulate medicine under the Tenth Amendment and misinterprets the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which would harm off-label drug use across all medical fields.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 15 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief to limit a U.S. DOJ subpoena seeking medical records of transgender youth from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, arguing it violates patient privacy and could intimidate providers of gender-affirming care.
Governor Newsom signed the Expanding Privacy Rights Act (SB 923), expanding CCPA deletion rights to cover personal information obtained from third parties and requiring online-only businesses to offer an online method for submitting privacy requests. The law takes effect January 1, 2027, and allows businesses to maintain suppression lists to help keep deleted information from being reacquired.
The California Privacy Protection Agency announced that the California State Legislature approved the Expanding Privacy Rights Act (SB 923), which expands the CCPA's right to delete to cover all non-exempt personal information a business holds about a consumer, including data originally collected from third parties. The bill also requires online-only businesses with a direct relationship to consumers to provide online methods, such as webforms, for submitting access, deletion, and correction requests, and expressly permits businesses to retain suppression lists so deleted information stays deleted. The bill, authored by Senator Becker and sponsored by CalPrivacy, now goes to the Governor for consideration.
A bipartisan coalition of 33 state attorneys general, led by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, began trial against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging the company knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Facebook and Instagram that drive children and teens to use the platforms compulsively, while falsely assuring parents and the public that its platforms were safe for young users. The states also allege Meta illegally collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, violating COPPA. The trial opened before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with the states seeking monetary penalties and injunctive relief.
A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by Colorado AG Phil Weiser, obtained a temporary restraining order from a federal court in California to halt the proposed $110 billion merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. by Paramount Skydance Corporation. The lawsuit alleges the merger violates Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition in film distribution, anticipated blockbuster film distribution, and licensing cable TV channels.