(a) The Legislature finds and declares that there has been a disturbing abuse of Section 425.16, the California Anti-SLAPP Law, which has undermined the exercise of the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and petition for the redress of grievances, contrary to the purpose and intent of Section 425.16. The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the public interest to encourage continued participation in matters of public significance, and that this participation should not be chilled through abuse of the judicial process or Section 425.16.
§ 425.17.Inapplicability of Anti-Slapp Law
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Pleadings Demanding Relief · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 425.17 exempts two categories of claims from the anti-SLAPP statute -- narrowly defined public-interest enforcement actions and certain commercial speech about a business's own goods or services -- while carving those exemptions back for media, artistic-work, and specified nonprofit defendants.
Full Text of § 425.17
(b) Section 425.16 does not apply to any action brought solely in the public interest or on behalf of the general public if all of the following conditions exist:
(1) The plaintiff does not seek any relief greater than or different from the relief sought for the general public or a class of which the plaintiff is a member. A claim for attorney's fees, costs, or penalties does not constitute greater or different relief for purposes of this subdivision.
(2) The action, if successful, would enforce an important right affecting the public interest, and would confer a significant benefit, whether pecuniary or nonpecuniary, on the general public or a large class of persons.
(3) Private enforcement is necessary and places a disproportionate financial burden on the plaintiff in relation to the plaintiff's stake in the matter.
(c) Section 425.16 does not apply to any cause of action brought against a person primarily engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods or services, including, but not limited to, insurance, securities, or financial instruments, arising from any statement or conduct by that person if both of the following conditions exist:
(1) The statement or conduct consists of representations of fact about that person's or a business competitor's business operations, goods, or services, that is made for the purpose of obtaining approval for, promoting, or securing sales or leases of, or commercial transactions in, the person's goods or services, or the statement or conduct was made in the course of delivering the person's goods or services.
(2) The intended audience is an actual or potential buyer or customer, or a person likely to repeat the statement to, or otherwise influence, an actual or potential buyer or customer, or the statement or conduct arose out of or within the context of a regulatory approval process, proceeding, or investigation, except where the statement or conduct was made by a telephone corporation in the course of a proceeding before the California Public Utilities Commission and is the subject of a lawsuit brought by a competitor, notwithstanding that the conduct or statement concerns an important public issue.
(d) Subdivisions (b) and (c) do not apply to any of the following:
(1) Any person enumerated in subdivision (b) of Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution or Section 1070 of the Evidence Code, or any person engaged in the dissemination of ideas or expression in any book or academic journal, while engaged in the gathering, receiving, or processing of information for communication to the public.
(2) Any action against any person or entity based upon the creation, dissemination, exhibition, advertisement, or other similar promotion of any dramatic, literary, musical, political, or artistic work, including, but not limited to, a motion picture or television program, or an article published in a newspaper or magazine of general circulation.
(3) Any nonprofit organization that receives more than 50 percent of its annual revenues from federal, state, or local government grants, awards, programs, or reimbursements for services rendered.
(e) If any trial court denies a special motion to strike on the grounds that the action or cause of action is exempt pursuant to this section, the appeal provisions in subdivision (i) of Section 425.16 and paragraph (13) of subdivision (a) of Section 904.1 do not apply to that action or cause of action.
Plain-English Summary
Section 425.17 responds to what the Legislature found in subdivision (a): abuse of § 425.16 itself, used in ways that undercut rather than serve the interests the anti-SLAPP law was built to protect. It removes two defined categories of action from the anti-SLAPP statute's reach entirely.
The first, in subdivision (b), is the public-interest exception. It applies only when all three conditions hold: the plaintiff seeks no relief greater or different from what benefits the general public or a class the plaintiff belongs to (a request for fees, costs, or penalties does not count as greater or different relief); success would enforce an important public-interest right and confer a significant public benefit; and private enforcement is necessary and would place a disproportionate financial burden on the plaintiff relative to the plaintiff's own stake. The second, in subdivision (c), is the commercial speech exception. It removes anti-SLAPP protection from a cause of action against someone primarily in the business of selling or leasing goods or services when the challenged statement or conduct is a factual representation about that person's own or a competitor's business, goods, or services, made to obtain sales or in the course of providing them, and directed at an actual or potential buyer or someone likely to influence one — or arising in a regulatory approval process (with a specific carve-out for a telephone corporation sued by a competitor over conduct in a Public Utilities Commission proceeding).
Subdivision (d) then carves the carve-out back for certain defendants, regardless of whether the public-interest or commercial speech exception would otherwise apply. Newsgathering journalists and others covered by the reporter's shield provisions of the California Constitution and Evidence Code, and people engaged in book or academic-journal publishing, keep full anti-SLAPP protection. So do actions targeting the creation or dissemination of a dramatic, literary, musical, political, or artistic work — including films, television programs, and newspaper or magazine articles — and nonprofit organizations that draw more than half their annual revenue from government grants or reimbursements.
Subdivision (e) has a practical consequence worth flagging: if a trial court denies a special motion to strike on the ground that the claim falls within one of this section's exemptions, the immediate appeal rights that ordinarily attach to an anti-SLAPP ruling under § 425.16(i) and § 904.1(a)(13) do not apply. A defendant who loses on exemption grounds cannot use the automatic interlocutory appeal to pause the case while appealing that ruling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does § 425.17 mean the anti-SLAPP statute never applies to public-interest lawsuits?
No. Section 425.17(b) exempts only actions meeting all three of its specific conditions — no greater relief than for the general public or a class, enforcement of an important public right conferring a significant public benefit, and a disproportionate private-enforcement burden on the plaintiff. Actions that don't meet all three remain subject to § 425.16.
What is the commercial speech exception under § 425.17(c)?
It removes anti-SLAPP protection from claims against a person primarily in the business of selling or leasing goods or services, where the challenged statement is a factual representation about that person's or a competitor's business made to obtain sales and directed at an actual or potential buyer, or arising in a regulatory approval process.
Do the § 425.17 exemptions apply to news reporters or filmmakers?
No. Section 425.17(d) exempts newsgathering journalists, book and academic-journal publishers, and actions targeting the creation or dissemination of dramatic, literary, musical, political, or artistic works — including films, television programs, and newspaper or magazine articles — from both the public-interest and commercial speech exceptions, leaving § 425.16's full protection in place.
Can a defendant immediately appeal if the court denies an anti-SLAPP motion because the case is exempt under § 425.17?
How is § 425.17 different from § 425.18's SLAPPback provision?
Section 425.17 exempts certain categories of underlying claims from anti-SLAPP protection altogether. Section 425.18 instead governs a later, separate cause of action for malicious prosecution or abuse of process arising from a prior anti-SLAPP dismissal — a different procedural situation entirely.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2011 ch 296 (AB 1023),s 36.5, eff. 1/1/2012. Added by Stats 2003 ch 338 (SB 515),s 1, eff. 1/1/2004.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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