Unlawful Release of a Minor’s Identifying Information Exposed

Unlawful Release of a Minor's Identifying Information was adopted by ALEC's Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Task Force at the Spring Task Force Summit on May 17, 2008, approved by the ALEC Board of Directors in June, 2008. According to ALEC.org, the Act was re-approved by the Board of Directors on January 9, 2014. (Accessed on 12/12/2015).

ALEC Bill Text

Section 1. {Title}

This Act may be cited as the Unlawful Release of a Minor’s Identifying Information.

Section 2. {Definitions}

(A) A person shall not knowingly select and place, or direct the placement, on the world wide web of the identifying information of a minor if the dissemination of the identifying information knowingly poses an imminent and serious threat to the minor’s safety and the person has knowledge of, and reckless disregard for, the serious and imminent threat.

(B) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Minor” means any person under eighteen years of age.

(2) “Identifying information” means the name of the public or private elementary, middle, or high school attended by a minor, a minor’s school address, home address, physical description of a minor, or photographs of a minor, and electronic identifiers.

(3) A violation if this section is a gross misdemeanor.

Section 3.

(A) Whenever it appears that any person or organization is engaged in or about to engage in any act that constitutes or will constitute a violation of section 2 of this act, the prosecuting attorney or the parents or guardian of any minor harmed by an alleged violation of section 2 of this act may initiate a civil proceeding in superior court to enjoin such violation, and may petition the court to issue an order for the discontinuance of the dissemination of the information in violation of section 2 of this act.

(B) An action under this section shall be brought in the county in which the violation is alleged to have taken place, and shall be commenced by the filing of a verified complaint, or shall be accompanied by an affidavit.

(C) If it is shown to the satisfaction of the court, either by verified complaint or affidavit, that a person or organization is engaged in or about to engage in any act that constitutes a violation of section 2 of this act, the court may issue a temporary restraining order to abate and prevent the continuance or recurrence of the act.

(D) The court may issue a permanent injunction to restrain, abate, or prevent the continuance or recurrence of the violation of section 2 of this act. The court may grant declaratory relief, mandatory orders, or any other relief deemed necessary to accomplish the purposes of the injunction. The court may retain jurisdiction of the case for the purpose of enforcing its orders.

Section 4.

The parents or guardian of any minor whose identifying information is selected and placed online on the world wide web as described in section 2 of this act and who suffers damages as a result of such conduct may bring an action against the person or organization who engaged in such conduct, for actual damages sustained plus damages in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars for each day the identifying information was made available on the world wide web, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

Section 5.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to impose liability on an interactive computer service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 230(f), for content provided by another person.

Section 6. {Enactment Clause}

Adopted by the Criminal Justice & Homeland Security Task Force at the Spring Task Force Summit, May 17, 2008.

Approved by the full ALEC Board of Directors June 2008.