Public broadcaster seeks exemption in proposed unlawful-disclosure misdemeanor; SB 1121 carried over

Senate Bill 1121 would create a Class B misdemeanor for knowingly disclosing another person's personal information without consent when done with intent to stalk, harass or injure and where the disclosure results in harm. The bill’s definition of “personal information” includes home address, contact information, Social Security number, photos of a child and school information.

Rebecca Morris, general counsel for Oregon Public Broadcasting, testified in support of a dash-1 amendment that would add an exception to the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act for noncommercial broadcast stations that receive Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding or distribute journalism content without cost as part of emergency alerting. Morris said the Consumer Privacy Act of 2023 has been “very difficult to apply to our industry” and that nonprofit public media struggles to separate First Amendment activity from other functions for compliance and vendor contracting.

The committee did not take final action on SB 1121 and carried the bill over until Wednesday, April 9, saying staff still needed paperwork or amendments to proceed.

Why it matters: The bill creates a criminal offense tied to disclosure of private information when intent and harm are present. Public broadcasters and some nonprofit news organizations urged a carve-out to avoid unintentionally criminalizing noncommercial journalism or making compliance infeasible for public media operations.

What’s next: The committee will reconsider SB 1121 when additional materials and the finalized amendment are available.