6254.21.
(a) No
state or local agency shall post the home address or telephone
number of any elected or appointed official on the Internet without
first obtaining the written permission of that
individual.
(b) No person shall knowingly post the home address or
telephone number of any elected or appointed official, or of the
official's residing spouse or child on the Internet knowing that
person is an elected or appointed official and intending to cause
imminent great bodily harm that is likely to occur or threatening to
cause imminent great bodily harm to that individual. A violation of
this subdivision is a misdemeanor. A violation of this subdivision
that leads to the bodily injury of the official, or his or her
residing spouse or child, is a misdemeanor or a felony.
(c) (1) No person, business, or association shall publicly
post or publicly display on the Internet the home address or
telephone number of any elected or appointed official if that
official has made
a written demand of that person, business, or association to not
disclose his or her home address or telephone number. A written
demand made under this paragraph by a state constitutional officer,
a mayor, or a Member of the Legislature, a city council, or a board
of supervisors shall include a statement describing a threat or fear
for the safety of that official or of any person residing at the
official's home address. A written demand made under this paragraph
by an elected official shall be effective for four years, regardless
of whether or not the official's term has expired prior to the end
of the four-year period. For this purpose, "publicly post" or
"publicly display" means to intentionally communicate or otherwise
make available to the general public.
(2) An official whose home address or
telephone number is made public as a result of a violation of
paragraph (1) may bring an action seeking injunctive or declarative
relief in any court of
competent jurisdiction. If a jury or court finds that a violation
has occurred, it may grant injunctive or declarative relief and
shall award the official court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(d) (1) No person, business, or association shall solicit,
sell, or trade on the Internet the home address or telephone number
of an elected or appointed official with the intent to cause
imminent great bodily harm to the official or to any person residing
at the official's home address.
(2) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, an official whose home address or telephone number
is solicited, sold, or traded in violation of paragraph (1) may
bring an action in any court of
competent jurisdiction. If a jury or court finds that a violation
has occurred, it shall award damages to that official in an amount
up to a maximum of three times the actual damages but in no case
less than four thousand dollars ($4,000).
(e) An interactive computer service or access software
provider, as defined in Section 230(f) of Title 47 of the United
States Code, shall not be liable under this section unless the
service or provider intends to abet or cause imminent great bodily
harm that is likely to occur or threatens to cause imminent great
bodily harm to an elected or appointed official.
(f) For purposes of this section, "elected or appointed
official" includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) State constitutional officers.
(2) Members of the Legislature.
(3) Judges and court commissioners.
(4) District attorneys.
(5) Public defenders.
(6) Members of a city council.
(7) Members of a board of
supervisors.
(8) Appointees of the Governor.
(9) Appointees of the Legislature.
(10) Mayors.
(11) City attorneys.
(12) Police chiefs and sheriffs.
(13) A public safety official as
defined in Section 6254.24.
(14) State administrative law judges.
(15) Federal judges and federal
defenders.
(16) Members of the United States
Congress and appointees of the President.
(g) Nothing in this section is intended to preclude
punishment instead under Sections 69, 76, or 422 of the Penal Code,
or any other provision of law.
6254.24. As used in this chapter,
"public safety official" means the following:
(a) An active or retired peace officer as defined in Sections
830 and 830.1 of the Penal Code.
(b) An active or retired public officer or other person
listed in Sections 1808.2 and 1808.6 of the Vehicle Code.
(c) An "elected or appointed official" as defined in
subdivision (f) of Section 6254.21.
(d) An attorney employed by the Department of Justice, the
State Public Defender, or a county office of the district attorney
or public defender, the United States Attorney, or the Federal
Public Defender.
(e) A city attorney and an attorney who represent cities in
criminal matters.
(f) A specified employee of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation who supervises inmates or is required to have a
prisoner in his or her care or custody.
(g) A sworn or nonsworn employee who supervises inmates in a
city police department, a county sheriff's office, the Department of
the California Highway Patrol, federal, state, or a local detention
facility, and a local juvenile hall, camp, ranch, or home, and a
probation officer as defined in Section 830.5 of the Penal Code.
(h) A federal prosecutor, a federal criminal investigator,
and a National Park Service Ranger working in California.
(i) The surviving spouse or child of a peace officer defined
in Section 830 of the Penal Code, if the peace officer died in the
line of duty.
(j) State and federal judges and court commissioners.
(k) An employee of the Attorney General, a district attorney,
or a public defender who submits verification from the Attorney
General, district attorney, or public defender that the employee
represents the Attorney General, district attorney, or public
defender in matters that routinely place that employee in personal
contact with persons under investigation for, charged with, or
convicted of, committing criminal acts.
(l) A nonsworn employee of the Department of Justice or a
police department or sheriff's office that, in the course of his or
her employment, is responsible for collecting, documenting, and
preserving physical evidence at crime scenes, testifying in court as
an expert witness, and other technical duties, and a nonsworn
employee that, in the course of his or her employment, performs a
variety of standardized and advanced laboratory procedures in the
examination of physical crime evidence, determines their results,
and provides expert testimony in court.
