Appeal of Surveillance Tech CEO's Meritless Lawsuit Against Journalist Fails

A California Court of Appeals refused to revive a lawsuit filed by former Premise Data CEO Maury Blackman against journalist Jack Poulson and hosting platforms after Poulson reported on Blackman’s secret arrest for felony domestic violence. Poulson published details and a copy of the San Francisco Police Department report after receiving it from a confidential source; he later learned the arrest record had been sealed. Blackman sued Poulson, Substack, Amazon Web Services, and another website seeking damages and removal of the reporting. A trial court dismissed the suit under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, finding it was a strategic attempt to silence protected speech rather than a legitimate legal claim.

The Court of Appeals affirmed that dismissal, holding that the First Amendment protects the lawfully obtained truthful publication of the information unless a state interest of the highest order requires suppression - an interest Blackman’s privacy claim did not satisfy. The court also found Poulson protected by California’s Shield Law as the publisher of All Source Intelligence and concluded that Substack and the temporary host were immune under Section 230. The decision reinforces anti-SLAPP protections against litigation aimed at chilling journalism and upholds publisher and platform immunities in reporting truthful, lawfully obtained information.