(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Led by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a bipartisan group of 41 states and the District of Columbia is defending a New Jersey law that protects public servants from increasing threats of violence in the digital age.
In an amicus brief, Yost and his counterparts urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit to uphold Daniel’s Law, a statute safeguarding public officials against doxing – maliciously posting someone else’s personal information online to incite harassment or violence.
“Public service has always carried risks, but technology has stoked the fire for threats against government officials,” Yost said. “States have a constitutional right to protect public servants by shielding personal information that could jeopardize their safety.”
New Jersey enacted Daniel’s Law in 2020 after the attempted assassination of federal Judge Esther Salas at her family’s home. Although Salas was unharmed in the attack, the assailant killed her son, Daniel Anderl, and wounded her husband. The law prohibits the disclosure of personal information, such as a home address, for judges, prosecutors, police officers and other public officials without their consent.
Dozens of data brokers and other companies are challenging the law in court, claiming that it violates the First Amendment. The attorneys general disagree, saying that the law is constitutional and asserting that states have a sovereign right to protect state and local officials from threats of violence.
The coalition’s brief argues that the First Amendment “leaves room for states to safeguard people’s privacy when important interests are at stake but no speech of public significance is at risk. Here, the states’ interests in protecting their public servants could not be more compelling.”
The brief notes how violence threatens government at all branches and levels, impacting both safety and the long-term quality of government: “Even the best government officials will be less likely to do what they deem right if they are worried about violent retaliation against their families.”
Congress and many other states have recently enacted similar laws prohibiting the disclosure of public officials’ personal information.
Joining Ohio’s Yost in the amicus brief are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming.
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