N.J. Stat. § 56:8-166.1

Current through L. 2024, c. 80.

Section 56:8-166.1 - Person, business, association prohibited from publishing certain information on the Internet

a.

(1) Upon notification pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, and not later than 10 business days following receipt thereof, a person, business, or association shall not disclose or re-disclose on the Internet or otherwise make available, the home address or unpublished home telephone number of any covered person, as defined in subsection d. of this section.

(2) An authorized person seeking to prohibit the disclosure of the home address or unpublished home telephone number of any covered person consistent with paragraph (1) of this subsection shall provide written notice to the person from whom the authorized person is seeking nondisclosure that the authorized person is an authorized person and requesting that the person cease the disclosure of the information and remove the protected information from the Internet or where otherwise made available.

(3) An immediate family member who has provided notice pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection and who no longer resides with the judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor shall provide notice to that effect to the person, business, or association not later than 30 days from the date on which the immediate family member no longer resided with the judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor.

b. A person, business, or association that violates subsection a. of this section shall be liable to the covered person or the covered person's assignee, who may bring a civil action in the Superior Court.

c. The court shall award:

(1) actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of $1,000 for each violation of this act;

(2) punitive damages upon proof of willful or reckless disregard of the law;

(3) reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred; and

(4) any other preliminary and equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate.

d. For the purposes of this section:

"Assignee" means a person or entity to whom or which an authorized person has assigned, in writing, a covered person's right to bring a civil action for a violation of subsection a. of this section.

"Authorized person" means a covered person or any of the following persons hereby authorized to submit or revoke a request for the redaction or nondisclosure of a home address on behalf of a covered person:

(1) on behalf of any federal judge, a designee of the United States Marshals Service or of the clerk of any United States District Court;

(2) on behalf of any covered person who is deceased or medically or psychologically incapacitated, a person acting on behalf of the covered person as a designated trustee, as an estate executor, or pursuant to a written power of attorney or other legal instrument; and

(3) on behalf of any immediate family member who is a minor and who is otherwise entitled to address redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to this act, the parent or legal guardian thereof.

"Covered person" means an active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, law enforcement officer, or child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, as those terms are defined by section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1), or prosecutor, and any immediate family member residing in the same household as such judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor.

"Disclose" shall mean to solicit, sell, manufacture, give, provide, lend, trade, mail, deliver, transfer, post, publish, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, advertise, or offer, and shall include making available or viewable within a searchable list or database, regardless of whether a search of such list or database is actually performed.

"Home telephone number" means any telephone number used primarily for personal communications, including a landline or cellular telephone number.

"Immediate family member" means a spouse, child, or parent of, or any other family member related by blood or by law to, an active, formerly active, or retired judicial officer, law enforcement officer, or child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, as those terms are defined by section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1), or prosecutor and who resides in the same household as such judicial officer, law enforcement officer, child protective investigator in the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, or prosecutor.

"News media" means newspapers, magazines, press associations, news agencies, wire services, or other similar printed means of disseminating news to the general public.

"Person" shall not be construed to include in any capacity the custodian of a government record as defined in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1).

e. This section shall not be construed to prohibit a person, business, or association that has received information as unredacted pursuant to the provisions of sections 1 through 3 of P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1 through C.47:1B-3) from making the information available consistent with the purposes for which the person, business, or association received the information. A person, business, or association that uses or makes available the information in a way that is inconsistent with the purposes for which the person, business, or association received the information shall be liable as provided pursuant to subsection c. of this section.

f. Nothing herein shall be construed to impose liability on the news media for failure to remove information from previously printed newspapers, and nothing herein shall be construed to impose liability relating to telephone directories or directory assistance unless the covered person has requested to be unpublished in the directory and directory assistance by the applicable publication deadline.

N.J.S. § 56:8-166.1

Amended by L. 2023, c. 113, s. 6, eff. 7/20/2023.

Amended by L. 2021, c. 371, s. 8, eff. 1/12/2022, app. retroactively to December 10, 2021.

Amended by L. 2021, c. 24, s. 5, eff. 2/22/2021, app. retroactively to November 20, 2020.

Amended by L. 2020, c. 125, s. 6, eff. 11/20/2020.

Added by L. 2015, c. 226,s. 3, eff. 1/19/2016.