Committee hears sharply divided views on making doxxing a crime, public broadcasters seek OCPA clarity

The House Judiciary Committee reopened public testimony on Senate Bill 11‑21, which would create a class B misdemeanor for knowingly disclosing another person’s personal information without consent with intent to stalk, harass or injure and where that disclosure results in harm, harassment or stalking. The measure also would add an exemption to the 2023 Oregon Consumer Privacy Act (OCPA) for certain nonprofit public-media stations.

The bill’s backers told the committee the measure targets a narrow set of abusive disclosures; opponents said its broad language risks criminalizing protected speech. The hearing combined personal accounts from law-enforcement officers who said doxxing produced credible threats with legal and media testimony arguing the bill’s text needs tightening to avoid constitutional problems and to clarify the OCPA exemption.

“Within an hour I had received about a hundred phone calls to my personal cell phone,” said Sergeant Aaron Schmaltz, a Portland police sergeant and president of the Oregon…