Public Servant Protection Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.7799 | Sponsor: Rep. Hill, J. French (R-AR)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

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.

To regulate the posting of personal information of government officials 
                on the internet, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public Servant Protection Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. PRIVACY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Government official.--The term ``government official'' 
        means--
                    (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'' has the meaning given the term in section 115 of title 
        18, United States Code.
            (3) Interactive computer service.--The term ``interactive 
        computer service'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230).
            (4) Personal information.--The term ``personal 
        information'' means--
                    (A) a home address; or
                    (B) a home phone number.
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any 
        possession of the United States.
            (6) Tribal government.--The term ``Tribal government'' has 
        the meaning given the term ``Indian tribal government'' in 
        section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
        Emergency Assistance Act (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.
                                 <all>