California’s telehealth licensing regime undermines the First Amendment

Too often, government officials blur the line between speech and conduct to justify censorship. That pattern is repeating itself—this time through California’s vague and overreaching medical licensing laws, which are now the subject of a significant constitutional challenge. It’s a reminder that Americans don’t lose their free speech rights just because they work in a licensed profession.

California law makes it a crime for out-of-state doctors—even those fully licensed elsewhere—to discuss diagnoses or medical information with patients in California. These rules are especially troubling in the context of telehealth, where doctors regularly offer consultations across state lines. But thanks to California’s broad definition of “unauthorized practice,” many physicians are now self-censoring