Rhode Island's Governor recently signed the Rhode Island Judicial Security Act (H5892), which aims to bolster the privacy and security of current and former judicial officers and their families by introducing several measures to safeguard their personal information.
Definition of Protected Individuals
The Act defines "protected individuals" as current, retired, or recalled justices, judges, and magistrates of the Rhode Island unified judicial system, as well as federal judicial officers residing in Rhode Island.
Definition of Personal Information
Personal information is defined to mean the Social Security number, residence address, home phone number, mobile phone number, or personal email address of, and identifiable to, the protected individual or their immediate family member.
Restrictions on Public Posting
Protected individuals may file a written notice of their status as a protected individual, for themselves and immediate family, with any state, county, and municipal agencies, as well as with any person, data broker, business, or association.
Following receipt of this notice, these entities shall:
- mark as confidential the protected individual's or
immediate family member's personal information,
- remove within 72 hours any publicly available personal information of the protected individual or immediate family member, and
- obtain written permission from the protected individual prior to publicly posting or displaying the personal information of the protected individual or immediate family members.
After receiving a protected individual's written request, a person, data broker, business, or association shall also:
- ensure that the protected individual's or the immediate family member's personal information is not made available on any website or subsidiary website under their control, and
- not transfer this information to any other person, business, or association through any medium.
The Act further prohibits data brokers from selling, licensing, trading, or otherwise making available for consideration the personal information of a protected individual or immediate family member.
Enforcement and Legal Recourse:
Protected individuals or their immediate family members can seek injunctive or declaratory relief in court if their personal information is disclosed in violation of the act. Violators may be required to pay the individual's costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
The law will take effect January 1, 2026.
Rhode Island's Judicial Security Act bears a striking resemblance to New Jersey's Daniel's Law. Daniel's Law prohibits the disclosure of the residential addresses and unpublished phone numbers of judicial officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers on websites controlled by New Jersey state, county, and local government agencies.
Entities subject to the Act should promptly review and, where necessary, revise their data handling practices to ensure compliance with the Act's restrictions on disclosing protected judicial information.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
