Sec. 301. Disclosure of personal information with the intent to cause harm
613 words·~3 min read·
/bill/115/hr/3067/ih/section-301A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Chapter 41 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: Whoever uses the mail or any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce, to knowingly publish a person’s personally identifiable information— with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or harass any person, incite or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against any person, or place any person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury; or with the intent that the information will be used to threaten, intimidate, or harass any person, incite or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against any person, or place any person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
An individual who is a victim of an offense under this section may bring a civil action against the perpetrator in an appropriate district court of the United States and may recover damages and any other appropriate relief, including reasonable attorney’s fees. An individual who is found liable under this subsection shall be jointly and severally liable with each other person, if any, who is found liable under this subsection for damages arising from the same violation of this section.
Any civil action filed under this subsection shall be stayed during the pendency of any criminal action arising out of the same occurrence in which the claimant is the victim. In this subsection, the term criminal action includes an investigation and prosecution that is pending, until final adjudication in the trial court. In this section: The term publish means to circulate, deliver, distribute, disseminate, transmit, or otherwise make available to another person. The term crime of violence has the meaning given the term in section 16.
The term personally identifiable information means— any information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, such as name, prior legal name, alias, mother’s maiden name, social security number, date or place of birth, address, phone number, or biometric data; any information that is linked or linkable to an individual, such as medical, financial, education, consumer, or employment information, data, or records; or any other sensitive private information that is linked or linkable to a specific identifiable individual, such as gender identity, sexual orientation, or any sexually intimate visual depiction.
The term sexually intimate visual depiction means any photograph, film, video, or other recording or live transmission of a person, whether produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means (including depictions stored on undeveloped film and videotape, data stored on computer disk or by any electronic means that is capable of conversion into a visual image, and data that is capable of conversion into a visual image that has been transmitted by any means, whether or not stored in a permanent format), that depicts— the naked exhibition of the anus, the post-pubescent female nipple, the genitals, or the pubic area of any person; any actual or simulated sexual contact or sexual act (as defined in section 2763); bestiality; or sadistic or masochistic conduct.
An attempt to violate this section shall be punishable in the same manner as a completed violation of this section. This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or political subdivision of a State, or of an intelligence agency of the United States. . The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 41 title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 881.
Publication of personally identifiable information with the intent to cause harm. .