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Vermont panel hears support and limits for H.342 to curb online sharing of public servants’ personal data
Summary
Witnesses including prosecutors, judges and law-enforcement leaders urged the committee to restrict data-broker circulation of personal information for judges, prosecutors and other public servants but urged clarifications on who is covered and how the law would work in practice.
The House committee on H.342 heard testimony from prosecutors, judges and law-enforcement officials who said requiring data brokers to stop distributing personal information could reduce threats against public servants, but raised questions about who would be covered and whether the bill’s “upon request” mechanism is sufficient.
Kim McManus, with the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, told the committee that prosecutors and their offices receive threats “fairly regularly” and described the safety work that follows credible threats, including home-security surveys and coordination with local police. “And if that is what the bill aims to do, either minimize or eliminate our personal information online, we support that,” McManus said.
The bill would let covered persons ask data brokers to cease distribution of personally identifiable information. Supporters said a statutory process could reduce easy online access to home addresses, phone numbers and other data that attackers use to escalate harassment into violence.…
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