Amendment ID: S2608-31

Amendment 31

Protecting the Personal Information of Massachusetts Judges

Mr. Cronin moves that the proposed new draft be amended in section 1 by inserting the following section:-

"Section 11. No state or local government agency shall publicly post or publicly display content that includes the personal information of any active or retired Massachusetts state court judge or their immediate family if the judge has made a written request under this title that the government agency not disclose such personal information. After a state or local government agency has received a written request, that agency shall remove the personal information from publicly available content within 72 hours. After the government agency has removed the judge’s personal information from publicly available content, the agency shall not publicly post, display or otherwise release the information unless the government agency has received the judge’s consent to make the personal information available to the public.

No person, business, or association, inclusive of data brokers, shall publicly post or publicly display the personal information of an active or retired Massachusetts state court judge or their immediate family if the judge has made a written request under this act of that person, business, or association, not to disclose such personal information. No person, business, or association, inclusive of data brokers, shall share, solicit, sell, or trade the personal information of an active or retired Massachusetts state court judge or their immediate family with the intent to pose an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the judge or their immediate family, or after written request. After a person, business, or association, inclusive of data brokers, has received a written request from an active or retired Massachusetts state court judge to protect the personal information of the judge or their immediate family, that person, business, or association must remove the personal information from public display within 72 hours or, in the case of a printed directory, no later than the next update to the directory. After a person, business, or association, inclusive of data brokers, has received a written request from an active or retired Massachusetts state court judge, that person shall ensure that the judge’s personal information is not publicly displayed, including on any website or subsidiary website controlled by that person, business, or association.

After receiving an active or retired Massachusetts state court judge’s written request, a person, business, or association, inclusive of data brokers, may not transfer the judge’s personal information to any other person through any medium. If a government agency fails to comply with a written request to refrain from disclosing personal information, the judge may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.

An active or retired Massachusetts state court judge or immediate family member whose personal information is made public as a result of a violation of this act may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction against a person, business, or association. If the court grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the person, business, or association responsible for the violation shall be required to pay the judge’s costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees."