This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Wednesday, September 28th, 2022.

I'm Caleb Brown.

California is looking at a particularly pernicious form of regulation when it comes to what doctors say about COVID-19,

particularly if those doctors are spreading what the state considers to be

misinformation.

As of this recording, it's unclear if Governor Gavin Newsom will go along with it, Cato's Jeff Singer comments.

What is California's legislature asking the governor to sign?

Yeah, the California legislature passed and sent the Governor Newsom's desk, A.B.

2098, the so-called COVID misinformation bill.

And what this would do, using the bill's own language, it would quote,

designate the dissemination by physicians and surgeons of

misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS COV2

coronavirus or COVID-19 as unprofessional conduct.

And the bill further goes on to say it defines misinformation as, quote, false information

that is contradicted by a contemporary scientific quote,

false information that is contradicted by a contemporary scientific consensus

contrary to the standard of care, close quote.

Now, when you first hear that,

a reasonable person might say, well, wait a minute, what's so unique

about this? After all, when a doctor gets sued for medical malpractice, isn't the plaintiff arguing that the doctor

violated the standard of care and caused harm for the patient and also you know if

you complain to the licensing board that a physician violated the standard of care.

...