A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday left in place California rules that force federally licensed firearm dealers to run surveillance systems. Judge Lucy Koh wrote the 2-1 opinion, which backed a January 2025 Central District of California dismissal for failure to state a claim.

Dealers who operate storefronts and home businesses sued over Penal Code Section 26806, enacted in 2023, which requires continuous video and audio recording on their premises. They said the mandate violated the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments whether or not the state ever reviewed the files.

The panel held that recording does not itself constitute a search, that the complaint alleged no physical intrusion or state access to the recordings, and that complying with the statute does not convert dealers into state actors.