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S 2937Civil Procedure

Courts and Civil Procedure - Courts - Court Administration

This bill allows federal judges living in Rhode Island to keep their home addresses and personal information private.

Signed into law69 Yea0 Nay6 Not voting
Population
Affected
5
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the Rhode Island Judicial Security Act to expand privacy protections for judges. Specifically, it adds federal judges (Supreme Court, Appeals, District, and Bankruptcy) who reside in Rhode Island to the list of "protected individuals." The bill allows these judges to use an authorized agent to request the removal of their personal information—such as home addresses and phone numbers—from government and business websites. It also updates regulations for data aggregators, requiring them to remove information within ten business days of a request, while establishing exceptions for necessary disclosures to banks, insurers, and law enforcement.

For younger readers

This bill helps keep judges safe. Sometimes, judges have to make hard decisions that might make people angry. To stay safe, judges do not want strangers to know where they live or what their phone number is. This new rule says that judges who work for the United States government but live in Rhode Island can ask websites and the government to hide their personal information. It also lets the judges ask someone else to help them send these requests so they do not have to do it all themselves.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Judges and MagistratesData AggregatorsState and Municipal AgenciesFinancial InstitutionsImmediate Family of Judges
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

There is a potential First Amendment risk regarding the restriction on data aggregators and other private entities from publishing truthful, lawfully obtained information about public officials. While the state has a compelling interest in judicial safety, prohibiting the dissemination of information could be challenged as a prior restraint on free speech or an overbroad restriction on the press and data companies, particularly if the information was obtained from public records before redaction.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Protects the safety and privacy of judicial officials and their families, ensuring they can perform their duties without fear of intimidation or targeted harassment.
  • Strengthens regulations on data aggregators and commercial entities by mandating the removal of personal information upon request, reinforcing the right to privacy against corporate data collection.
  • Allows for the use of authorized agents to manage privacy requests, reducing the administrative burden on individuals seeking protection.
  • Creates a tiered system of privacy rights where high-ranking officials are granted protections from data collection that are not available to the general public or vulnerable marginalized groups.
  • Includes broad exceptions allowing data sharing with financial institutions, insurance companies, and law enforcement, which maintains the surveillance power of corporate and state entities.
  • Reduces transparency regarding public officials, potentially making it more difficult for the community to hold powerful decision-makers accountable or organize peaceful protests.
For Conservatives
  • Strengthens the rule of law by ensuring that federal judges residing in the state are protected from harassment and intimidation, allowing them to rule impartially.
  • Provides necessary clarity for businesses by establishing specific exceptions for financial institutions and insurance organizations, ensuring commerce is not unduly disrupted by privacy requests.
  • Streamlines the process for removing private information from government databases, protecting public servants from potential weaponization of their personal data.
  • Imposes regulatory burdens on private businesses and data aggregators by mandating strict timelines for data removal and restricting how they manage information they legally obtained.
  • Creates a new avenue for litigation against businesses, forcing them to pay attorney's fees and costs if they fail to comply with complex redaction requests.
  • Interferes with the free market by dictating how private companies must handle data and restricting their ability to transfer information.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 11 additions · 5 deletions

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 8-15-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-15 entitled "Court Administration" is hereby amended to read as follows: 8-15-12. Rhode Island judicial security act. [Effective January 1, 2026.]

(a) As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

(1) “Data aggregator” means a commercial entity that collects, assembles, or maintains personal information concerning an individual or an employee of that entity in order to sell the information or provide third-party access to the information.

(2) “Immediate family” means the spouse, domestic partner, child, step-child, parent, or any other blood relative who lives in the same residence as a protected individual, as defined herein.

(3) “Personal information” means the Social Security number, residence addresses, home phone numbers, mobile phone numbers, or personal email addresses of, and identifiable to, the protected individual or immediate family member.

(4) “Protected individual” means a retired, recalled, or current justice, judge, or magistrate of the Rhode Island unified judicial system, as defined in § 8-15-1, and retired, recalled, or current justices, judges, and magistrates of the United States Supreme Court, United States Courts of Appeal, United States District Courts and United States Bankruptcy Courts who reside in the State of Rhode Island. (b)(1) No state agency, county agency, or municipal agency shall publicly post or display the personal information of any protected individual or immediate family member following receipt of notice provided for in subsection (b)(2) of this section without first obtaining the written permission of that individual.

(2) Each protected individual may file a written notice of their status as a protected individual, for themselves and immediate family with any state, county, or municipal agency requesting each state, county, or municipal agency to mark as confidential the protected individual’s or immediate family member’s personal information.

(3) Upon receipt of a written request in accordance with this section submitted by a protected individual, either directly or through an agent, the state, county, or municipal agency shall remove the protected individual’s or immediate family member’s personal information from publicly available content within seventy-two (72) hours; and further, shall not publicly post or display the personal information of any protected individual or immediate family member without first obtaining written permission from the protected individual.

(4) A state, county, or municipal agency shall comply with a written request received from a protected individual's authorized agent if the request is submitted with a notarized affidavit signed by the protected individual identifying their agent as being authorized to act on the protected individual's behalf in accordance with this section. (4)(5) This subsection (b) shall not prohibit the list of delinquent taxpayers published pursuant to § 44-1-34 from containing the name of any protected individual or immediate family member, the type of tax levied, and the amount of the delinquency, including interest and penalty. Addresses, including the city or town and zip code, of any protected individual or immediate family member shall not be disclosed on such list once the division of taxation receives a written notice filed in accordance with subsection (b)(2) of this section. (c)(1) In accordance with this section, it shall be unlawful for a data aggregator to sell, license, trade, purchase, or otherwise provide or make available for consideration a protected individual’s or immediate family member’s personal information following receipt of notice provided for in subsection (b)(2) of this section.

(2) Each protected individual may file a written notice of their status as a protected individual, for themselves and immediate family, to any person, data aggregator, business, or association, requesting the person, data aggregator, business, or association mark as confidential the protected individual’s or immediate family member’s personal information.

(3) In accordance with this section, upon receipt of a written request submitted by the protected individual, either directly or through an agent, to the person, data aggregator, business, or association, the person, data aggregator, business, or association shall remove the protected individual’s or immediate family member’s personal information from publicly available content within ten (10) business days; and further, shall not in the future publicly post or display the personal information of any protected individual or immediate family member without first obtaining written permission from the protected individual.

(4) Within ten (10) business days after receiving a protected individual’s written request, a person, data aggregator, business, or association shall ensure that the protected individual’s or the immediate family member’s personal information is not made available on any website or subsidiary website controlled by the person, data aggregator, business, or association, except for disclosures to governmental agencies, law enforcement, healthcare organizations, insurance organizations, financial institutions, or in connection with fraud prevention services or legal process.

(5) A person, data aggregator, business, or association shall comply with a written request received from a protected individual’s authorized agent if the request is submitted with a notarized affidavit signed by the protected individual identifying their agent as being authorized to act on the protected individual’s behalf in accordance with this section.

(6) After receiving a protected individual’s written request, either directly or through an agent, no person, data aggregator, business, or association shall transfer the protected individual’s or an immediate family member’s personally identifiable information to any other person, business, or association through any medium except as provided herein. This section shall not apply to a transfer made at the request of the protected individual or that is necessary to effectuate the request to the data aggregator, business, or association from the protected individual.

(7) A protected individual, or their immediate family member, whose personally identifiable information is made public as a result of a violation of this section may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction within the State of Rhode Island. If the court grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the person, business, or association responsible for the violation shall be required to pay the individual’s costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.