Senate Weighs Increased Online Protections for Judges
A new bill would prohibit data brokers from knowingly selling, trading, licensing purchase, or providing judges’ personally identifiable information, such as home addresses.
A bill to shield judges’ personally identifiable information online advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously, reports Bloomberg News. The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021 would prohibit data brokers from knowingly selling, trading, licensing purchase, or providing judges’ personally identifiable information, such as home addresses.
“Keeping our federal judges safe is an urgent priority,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) one of the bill’s original cosponsors. “It is one of the equal branches of our government and we should stand by their important role and the urgency of their safety amidst rising threats.” Lawmakers considered two amendments to expand the protections in the bill to government officials and members of Congress. Neither amendment was added but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed interest in pursuing proposals for those protections separately.