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.
The amicus brief urges the court to quash or limit the U.S. DOJ subpoena to protect patient privacy and prevent intimidation of healthcare providers.
In-house legal teams should review all agreements involving the handling of sensitive health data, particularly vendor and data processing agreements with healthcare providers, research institutions, and cloud service providers. Focus on clauses governing data sharing, patient consent (especially for minors), government data requests/subpoenas, and compliance with HIPAA and state medical privacy laws. Contracts may need amendments to explicitly restrict disclosure of sensitive health information related to gender-affirming care without robust judicial oversight, require advance notification to the data subject/covered entity before complying with broad subpoenas, and incorporate stricter data minimization and security protocols for highly sensitive health records. Employee agreements with healthcare providers should also be reviewed for confidentiality provisions regarding patient care decisions.
Entity
U.S. Department of Justice
Also known as: Department of Justice
Industry
HealthcareOfficial Press Release
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-subpoenas-targeting-medical-records-transgender-youth-are
CHOP amicus brief
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/CHOP%20amicus%20brief.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"U.S. Department of Justice’s (U.S. DOJ) subpoena"
"subpoenas targeting the medical records of transgender youth"
"sensitive medical records and personally identifying information about adolescent patients and their families"
"Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)"
"joining a coalition of 15 attorneys general"
"Joining Attorney General Bonta in submitting the amicus brief are the attorneys general of Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington."
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.
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.
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.
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) joined a coalition of 18 Attorneys General and state agencies in opposing the proposed SECURE Data Act, a federal privacy bill that would preempt stronger state privacy laws like the CCPA. The coalition argues the bill would weaken consumer privacy protections, limit enforcement remedies, and undermine California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP).