SCOTUS decision in First Choice Women's Resource Centers v. NJ is huge. Despite the iconic SCOTUS decision in NAACP v. Alabama, and the more recent decision in Americans for Prosperity Fdn v. Bonta, many lower courts have continued to insist that compelled disclosure of one's affiliations is not a harm that can even support a challenge to the government's actions. Yesterday the Supreme Court firmly rejected that approach: "Demands for private donor information ... 'chill' protected 1st Amendment associational rights even when those demands contemplate disclosure only to government officials and not ‘the general public. ... "An injury in fact does not arise only when a defendant causes a tangible harm to a plaintiff, like a physical injury or monetary loss. It can also arise when a defendant burdens a plaintiff ’s constitutional rights. And our cases have long recognized that demands for a charity’s private member or donor information have just that effect." This is a huge win for privacy and freedom, a huge blow to those who seek to "cancel" individuals or intimidate them from participating in public debate with threats of government retaliation, direct or indirect.
