In the case of Federal Power Commission v. Moss et al., 1975, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a natural gas company could not be exempted from certain regulatory requirements by claiming it was only involved in intrastate commerce. The court found that even though some aspects of the company's operations were purely local, its overall activities had significant effects on interstate commerce and thus fell under federal jurisdiction. This decision clarified the scope of federal power over energy companies and reinforced previous rulings affirming broad congressional authority to regulate economic activity affecting more than one state.

In the dissenting opinion for Federal Power Commission v. Moss et al., Justice William O. Douglas argued that the majority's decision to uphold a federal regulation requiring natural gas companies to disclose their financial records was an overreach of governmental power and violated constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. He contended that such disclosures should only be required if there is reasonable cause to believe wrongdoing has occurred, rather than as a matter of routine oversight by regulatory agencies. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential misuse or abuse of this information by government officials or third parties, which could harm these businesses' competitive standing in the marketplace. Thus, while acknowledging the need for some level of transparency in business operations, he believed that this requirement went too far and infringed upon fundamental privacy rights protected under Fourth Amendment.