Bill Text: IL HB2954 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Adds a definition of "emotional distress". Replaces references to "mental anguish" with "emotional distress". Makes changes to the definitions of "family or household member", "publish", "stalk", and "substantial life disruption". Authorizes a court to issue an order to prevent the publication of personally identifiable information or sensitive personal information if certain requirements are met. Requires any injunctive relief that is granted to contain specified elements. Deletes a provision which specified that the Act was to be construed liberally.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 32-1)

Status: (Passed) 2023-08-04 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0439 [HB2954 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB2954-Chaptered.html

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Public Act 103-0439
HB2954 Enrolled LRB103 30878 LNS 57401 b
AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Civil
Liability for Doxing Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Course of conduct" means a pattern of conduct composed of
2 or more acts, evidencing a continuity of purpose.
"Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs,
signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any
nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system.
"Emotional distress" means significant mental suffering,
anxiety, or alarm. "Emotional distress" is limited to
emotional suffering that is protracted and not merely trivial
or transitory.
"Family or household member" has the meaning given to the
term "family or household members" in Section 103 of the
Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986.
"Personally identifiable information" means any
information that can be used to distinguish or trace a
person's identity, such as name, prior legal name, alias,
mother's maiden name, and date or place of birth in

combination with any other information that is linked or
linkable to a person such as:
(1) social security number, home address, phone
number, email address, social media accounts, or biometric
data;
(2) medical, financial, education, consumer, or
employment information, data, or records;
(3) any other sensitive or private information that is
linked or linkable to a specific identifiable person, such
as gender identity, sexual orientation, or any sexually
intimate visual depiction; or
(4) any information that provides access to a person's
teleconferencing, video-teleconferencing, or other
digital meeting room.
"Post" means to circulate, deliver, distribute,
disseminate, transmit, or otherwise make available to 2 or
more persons through electronic communication.
"Publish" means to circulate, deliver, distribute,
disseminate, post, transmit, or otherwise make available to
another person. "Publish" does not include writing or
electronically communicating to one other person in private
communications for which an individual has a reasonable
expectation of privacy.
"Regularly resides" means residing in the household with
some permanency or regular frequency in the person's living
arrangement.

"Stalk" or "stalking" has the meaning provided in Section
12-7.3 of the Criminal Code of 2012, except that "stalking"
does not include an activity that is part of a protest that is
protected by the United States Constitution or the Illinois
Constitution.
"Substantial life disruption" means a material and
significant alteration of an individual's livelihood.
"Substantial life disruption" may include, but is not limited
to, moving from an established residence, changing routes to
and from work, changing employment or work schedule, or losing
time at work or a job.
Section 10. Doxing.
(a) An individual engages in the act of doxing when that
individual intentionally publishes another person's personally
identifiable information without the consent of the person
whose information is published and:
(1) the information is published with the intent that
it be used to harm or harass the person whose information
is published and with knowledge or reckless disregard that
the person whose information is published would be
reasonably likely to suffer death, bodily injury, or
stalking; and
(2) the publishing of the information:
(i) causes the person whose information is
published to suffer significant economic injury or

emotional distress or to fear serious bodily injury or
death of the person or a family or household member of
the person; or
(ii) causes the person whose information is
published to suffer a substantial life disruption; and
(3) the person whose information is published is
identifiable from the published personally identifiable
information itself.
(b) It is not an offense under this Act for an individual
to:
(1) provide another person's personally identifiable
information or sensitive personal information in
connection with the reporting of criminal activity to an
employee of a law enforcement agency or in connection with
any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or
intelligence activity of any law enforcement agency or of
an intelligence agency of the United States and the person
making the report reasonably believes the alleged criminal
activity occurred or the existing investigative,
protective, or intelligence activity is legitimate;
(2) disseminate the personally identifiable
information for the purpose of, or in connection with, the
reporting of conduct reasonably believed to be unlawful;
or
(3) provide a person's personally identifiable
information in connection with activity protected under

the United States Constitution or the Illinois
Constitution pertaining to speech, press, assembly,
protest, and petition, as well as the provision of
personally identifiable information to the press.
(c) Nothing in this Act shall be construed in any manner
to:
(1) conflict with Section 230 of Title II of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230);
(2) conflict with 42 U.S.C. 1983; or
(3) prohibit any activity protected under the
Constitution of the United States or the Illinois
Constitution.
Section 15. Civil action.
(a) A person who is aggrieved by a violation of this Act
may bring a civil action against (i) the individual who
committed the offense of doxing or (ii) any individual or
entity that directs one or more persons to violate this Act and
that knowingly benefits, financially or by receiving anything
of value, from participation in a venture that the individual
or entity knew involved a violation of this Act.
(b) A person who is aggrieved by a violation of this Act
may recover damages and any other appropriate relief,
including reasonable attorney's fees.
(c) An individual who is found liable under this Act shall
be jointly and severally liable with each other individual, if

any, who is found liable under this Act for damages arising
from the same violation of this Act.
(d) When a judgment is entered in favor of an individual
alleged to have committed the offense of doxing, the court may
award reasonable costs and attorney's fees to the defendant
for defending any claim that the court finds was brought by the
plaintiff and that the court finds was frivolous, baseless, or
brought in bad faith.
Section 20. Injunctive relief.
(a) A court in which a suit is brought under this Act, on
the motion of a party, may issue a temporary restraining
order, emergency order of protection, or preliminary or
permanent injunction to restrain and prevent the disclosure or
continued disclosure of a person's personally identifiable
information or sensitive personal information. Upon a motion
by a party in a civil action brought under this Act, and
following a full evidentiary hearing, a court may issue an
order pursuant to this Section to prevent the publishing of a
person's personally identifiable information or sensitive
personal information if the court finds by clear and
convincing evidence each of the following:
(1) the individual to be enjoined published personally
identifiable information or sensitive personal information
in violation of this Act;
(2) continued or further publishing of the personally

identifiable information or sensitive personal information
poses a present and ongoing risk of death, bodily injury,
or stalking to another individual; and
(3) the individual to be enjoined has no lawful or
constitutional purpose for continued or further publishing
of the personally identifiable information or sensitive
personal information.
(b) Any injunctive relief granted under this Section shall
state the following with sufficient particularity to allow
appellate review:
(1) the required findings in subsection (a) of Section
20 and the evidentiary basis and reasoning for the
findings;
(2) the expiration date of the injunction, which shall
be no more than one year from the date of its entry;
(3) that the enjoined individual may seek relief from
the injunction, if the court determines, after notice and
hearing, that one or more of the required findings in
subsection (a) of Section 20 no longer apply; and
(4) that the person who sought the injunction may seek
an extension of the order of no more than one year if the
court determines, after notice and hearing, that the
required findings in subsection (a) of Section 20 continue
to apply.
(c) If a person violates any order issued under this
Section, the court, in its discretion, may grant any civil

remedy under State law.
Section 25. Venue. A civil action may be brought in any
county in which an element of the offense occurred, or in which
a person resides who is the subject of personally identifiable
information published in violation of this Act.
Section 30. Constitutionality. The General Assembly does
not intend this Act to allow, and this Act shall not allow,
actions to be brought against constitutionally protected
activity.
Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.