2023 New York Laws › JUD - Judiciary › Article 22-C - New York State Judicial Security Act › 859 - New York State Judicial Security Act.

* § 859. New York state judicial security act. 1. Definitions. As used
in this article:
(a) "Eligible individual" shall mean an actively employed or former:
(i)  judge  or  justice  of  the  unified court system or judge of the
housing part of the civil court of the city of New York; or
(ii) a federal judge, which shall include a federal judge or a senior,
recalled, or retired federal judge sitting or  maintaining  chambers  in
New York, where such federal judge means:
(A) a justice of the United States or a judge of the United States, as
those terms are defined in section 451 of title 28, United States Code;
(B) a bankruptcy judge appointed under section 152 of title 28, United
States Code;
(C)  a  United  States magistrate judge appointed under section 631 of
title 28, United States Code;
(D) a judge confirmed by the United States  Senate  and  empowered  by
statute  in  any  commonwealth,  territory, or possession to perform the
duties of a federal judge;
(E) a judge of the United States Court  of  Federal  Claims  appointed
under section 171 of title 28, United States Code;
(F)  a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
appointed under section 7253 of title 38, United States Code;
(G) a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
appointed under section 942 of title 10, United States Code;
(H) a judge of the United States Tax  Court  appointed  under  section
7443 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
(I)  a  special  trial  judge of the United States Tax Court appointed
under section 7443A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(b) "Immediate family" shall mean, for each eligible  individual,  the
spouse, former spouse, parent, child, and sibling.
(c) "Personal information" shall include the following for an eligible
individual   and,  if  such  individual  so  indicates  as  provided  in
subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision two of  this  section,
for  the  members of their immediate family: (i) home address, including
primary residence and  secondary  residences;  (ii)  unlisted  telephone
number;  (iii)  personal cell phone number; (iv) personal email address;
(v) social security number; (vi) driver's license number; (vii)  license
plate  number;  (viii)  marital  status  and identity of any present and
former spouse; (ix) identity of children under the age of eighteen;  (x)
name  and  address  of  a  school  or  day  care facility attended by an
immediate family member; (xi) bank account number; (xii) credit or debit
card number; and (xiii) personal identification number (PIN).
(d) "Cease making public the personal information"  of  an  identified
person shall mean deleting, redacting or otherwise removing any existing
posting  on  the  internet  and any display or publication in any medium
accessible to  the  public  containing  such  personal  information  and
ceasing   the   sharing,  trading,  or  transferring  of  such  personal
information with others, as is specified in the written request  of  the
eligible individual on whose behalf the notification is made.
(e)  "Excluded  entity"  means  a  commercial  entity  engaged  in the
following activity:
(i) reporting, news-gathering, speaking, or other activity intended to
inform the public on matters of public interest or public concern;
(ii)  using  personal  information  internally,  providing  access  to
businesses under common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, or
selling  or  providing  data  for transaction or service requested by or
concerning  the  individual  whose   personal   information   is   being
transferred;
(iii)  providing  publicly available information via real-time or near
real-time alert services for health or safety purposes;
(iv)  any activity where the commercial entity is a consumer reporting
agency subject to the Fair Credit Reporting  Act  (15  U.S.C.  1681,  et
seq.);
(v)   any   activity  where  the  commercial  entity  is  a  financial
institution subject to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Public  Law  106-102)
and regulations implementing that Act;
(vi)  providing  411  directory  assistance  or  directory information
services, including name, address, and telephone number, on behalf of or
as a function of a telecommunications carrier;
(vii) any activity where the  commercial  entity  is  subject  to  the
privacy  regulations  promulgated  under  section  264(c)  of the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42  U.S.C.  1320-d
note); and
(viii)  the  collection  and sale or licensing of personal information
incidental to conducting the activities described in this paragraph.
(f) "Public agency" shall mean an agency of the state of New York  and
any of its political subdivisions.
2. Written request. (a) An eligible individual or their representative
may submit a written request to their employer or former employer. To be
enforceable,   a   written  request  shall  be  signed  by  an  eligible
individual, or their representative, and specify:
(i) those items of personal information that the  eligible  individual
wishes to be kept from being made public;
(ii)  the  identity  of members of the eligible individual's immediate
family and whether, for purposes of the written request, their  personal
information  should  be  deemed to include that of such immediate family
members; and
(iii) each person, business, association, and public or private agency
that the eligible individual  wishes  to  bar  from  making  public  the
personal information of such eligible individual.
(b)  The employer may develop procedures to review and process written
requests.
(c) (i) If a written  request  has  been  properly  submitted  and  is
complete,  the  employer for an active or former judge or justice of the
unified court system or active or former judge of the  housing  part  of
the  civil  court of the city of New York, as appropriate, shall, within
five business days of receipt of such written request from  an  eligible
individual,  notify  each  person,  business, association, and public or
private agency  identified  in  the  written  request  that  (A)  within
seventy-two  hours  of  receipt  of such notification, that such person,
business, association, and public or private agency  must  cease  making
public the personal information of the eligible individual identified in
such  request,  and (B) they must make reasonable efforts to ensure that
the  personal  information  of  the  eligible  individual  is  not  made
available  on  any  website  or  subsidiary  website  controlled by that
person, business, or association. For  purposes  of  this  subparagraph,
notification  shall  be  by  certified  mail,  return receipt requested,
either at the recipient's  last  known  residence  (if  recipient  is  a
person)  or  at  the  recipient's  principal  office (which shall be the
location at which the office of  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the
recipient is generally located).
(ii) If a written request has been properly submitted and is complete,
the  employer  of  an  active or former federal judge of a federal court
established in New York may notify each person,  business,  association,
and  public or private agency identified in the written request that (A)
within seventy-two hours of receipt  of  such  notification,  they  must

cease  making public the personal information of the eligible individual
identified in such request, and (B) they must make reasonable efforts to
ensure that the personal information of the eligible individual  is  not
made  available  on any website or subsidiary website controlled by that
person, business, or association. For  purposes  of  this  subparagraph,
notification  may be by certified mail, return receipt requested, either
at the recipient's last known residence (if the recipient is  a  person)
or  at  the recipient's principal office (which shall be the location at
which the office of the chief executive  officer  of  the  recipient  is
generally located).
(iii) Notwithstanding any provision of this paragraph to the contrary,
subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph shall not apply to:
(A)  display  of the personal information of an eligible individual if
such information is relevant to and displayed as part of a  news  story,
commentary, editorial, or other speech on a matter of public concern;
(B)  personal  information  that  the  eligible individual voluntarily
publishes after the effective date of this section;
(C) personal information received from a  public  agency  or  from  an
agency of the federal government; and
(D)  permissible uses of personal information pursuant to the Driver's
Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C.  §  2721  et  seq.),  except  that  no
eligible individual making a written request under this article shall be
deemed  to  have given express consent to share personal information for
the purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b), unless the written request contains
an express declaration to the contrary.
3. Recipient of notification not  to  make  an  eligible  individual's
personal  information  public. After a person, business, association, or
public or  private  agency  has  received  a  notification  pursuant  to
paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision  two  of  this  section, they shall have
seventy-two hours to cease making public the personal information of the
eligible individual identified in such notification.
4. (a) An eligible individual may seek an  injunction  or  declaratory
relief  in a court of competent jurisdiction against a person, business,
association, or  public  or  private  agency  that,  after  receiving  a
notification  pursuant  to  paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision  two of this
section,  fails  to  timely  comply  with  the  requirements   of   such
notification. If the court grants such injunctive or declaratory relief,
the  affected person, business, association, or agency shall be required
to pay the eligible individual's costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(b) Upon a violation of any order granting injunctive  or  declarative
relief  obtained  pursuant  to  this subdivision, the court issuing such
order may: (i) where the violator is a public agency, impose a fine  not
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars and require the payment of court costs
and reasonable attorney's fees; or (ii) where the violator is a  person,
business,  association, or private agency, award damages to the affected
eligible individual in an amount up to a  maximum  of  three  times  the
actual damages, but not less than four thousand dollars, and require the
payment of court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where the department of
motor  vehicles  receives  a  notification  pursuant to paragraph (c) of
subdivision two of this section, such department shall comply  therewith
except  that,  where  the  notification requires the department to cease
making a person's address public, the department may make their business
address public.
* NB Effective July 19, 2024