REGULATORY WATCH BRIEF Low 30 🔨 Court Ruling decided

California Court of Appeals affirms dismissal of CEO's anti‑SLAPP suit against journalist

The ruling reinforces anti‑SLAPP protections and platform immunity, safeguarding free‑speech reporting of personal arrest records.

ADTP Regulatory Watch · September 30, 2026

ImpactLow 30

Type🔨 Court Ruling

Statusdecided case outcome

JurisdictionUS-CA

What happened

The California Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by former Premise Data CEO Maury Blackman against journalist Jack Poulson, Substack, and AWS. The court ruled the suit was meritless under California’s anti‑SLAPP statute and protected the journalist’s publication under the First Amendment and the state Shield Law. The decision also confirmed immunity for the hosting platforms under Section 230.

Why it matters for trust and compliance

Its status is decided. The case has an outcome that others may cite.
The ruling reinforces anti‑SLAPP protections and platform immunity, safeguarding free‑speech reporting of personal arrest records.

Who is affected

media platform Maury Blackman Jack Poulson All Source Intelligence Substack Amazon Web Services

Recommended actions

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