YouTuber Nick Shirley sues California to block law shielding immigration groups' data

YouTuber and fraud investigator Nick Shirley has sued the state of California to halt AB 2624, known as the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” which Governor Gavin Newsom signed last month. The measure would protect organizations that assist immigrants by prohibiting the public posting of “personal information” about their staff and allowing civil suits against violators. America First Legal, representing Shirley, claims the statute infringes the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Constitution’s ex post facto clause because it retroactively threatens his past and future reporting.

The complaint highlights that the law’s broad language creates uncertainty over whether Shirley’s disclosures of phone numbers, addresses and other data could expose him to liability. Shirley, famous for viral videos exposing welfare fraud in Minnesota, says the bill is aimed at silencing his work in California. The suit was filed in the Eastern District of California and asks a federal court to prevent the law from becoming operative on Oct. 7, 2027.