Public Servant Protection Act of 2022

To regulate the posting of personal information of government officials on the internet, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Public Servant Protection Act of 2022 2. Privacy of personal information of government officials (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Government official The term government official (A) any officer or employee described in section 1114 of title 18 United States Code; and (B) any officer or employee of a State, a political subdivision of a State, or a Tribal government. (2) Immediate family member The term immediate family member (3) Interactive computer service The term interactive computer service 47 U.S.C. 230 (4) Personal information The term personal information (A) a home address; or (B) a home phone number. (5) State The term State (6) Tribal government The term Tribal government Indian tribal government 42 U.S.C. 5122 (b) Written demand to persons (1) In general A government official may directly, or through an agent designated by the government official, make a written demand to a person to refrain from publicly displaying on the internet the personal information of the government official or an immediate family member of the government official. (2) Effect of written demand If a government official makes a written demand to a person under paragraph (1), the person— (A) shall, not later than 48 hours after the receipt of the written demand, remove any personal information of the government official or an immediate family member of the government official displayed on the internet by the person; and (B) during the 4-year period following the date of the receipt of the written demand, may not publicly display on the internet the personal information of the government official or an immediate family member of the government official. (c) Written demand to interactive computer service providers (1) In general A government official may directly, or through an agent designated by the government official, make a written demand to the provider of an interactive computer service to remove the personal information of the government official or an immediate family member of the government official that is publicly displayed on the interactive computer service. (2) Effect of written demand If a government official makes a written demand to the provider of an interactive computer service under paragraph (1), the provider shall, not later than 48 hours after the receipt of the written demand, remove from the interactive computer service any personal information of the government official or an immediate family member of the government official that is publicly displayed on the interactive computer service. (d) Cause of action (1) In general A government official who is aggrieved by a violation of subsection (b)(2) or (c)(2) may bring a civil action against the person or the provider of an interactive computer service, respectively, that violated that subsection in an appropriate district court of the United States. (2) Relief In an action under paragraph (1), the court may award— (A) injunctive relief; (B) if injury or damage results from the violation of paragraph subsection (b)(2) or (c)(2), the greater of— (i) actual damages; or (ii) $1,000; and (C) reasonable costs and attorney's fees.

Summary: Public Servant Protection Act of 2022 This bill allows government officials to demand that persons and interactive computer service providers (e.g., social media companies) remove certain forms of their personal information from the internet. Specifically, a federal, state, territorial, tribal, or local government official may make a demand in writing for the removal of the official's (or an immediate family member's) home address or home phone number that is publicly displayed online. Within 48 hours of receiving a demand, a person displaying the address or phone number online must remove it and may not publicly display a removed address or phone number online during the 4-year period following receipt of the demand. A provider must also remove within 48 hours of receiving a demand the address or phone number publicly displayed through its service. Officials may sue a person or provider for failing to remove an applicable address or phone number. Courts may award to an aggrieved official injunctive relief, the greater of actual damages or $1,000, and reasonable costs and attorney's fees.