Rhode Island Judicial Security Act (removal of judges' personal information)

RI Judicial Security Act

Data brokers · Government records · Other

Lets judges and their families send written notices requiring data brokers, businesses and government agencies to remove and stop posting their home addresses, phone numbers and personal emails. Data aggregators may not sell or trade the information after notice, and businesses must take it down within 10 business days (agencies within 72 hours). A 2026 amendment allows requests through an authorized agent.

Where: Rhode Island
Citation: R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-15-12
Status: In force
In force since: 2026-01-01
Last amended: 2026-06-19
Enforced by: Courts via actions by protected individuals
People can sue: Yes
Penalties: Protected individuals or family members whose information is made public in violation may sue for injunctive or declaratory relief; if granted, the violator must pay the individual's costs and reasonable attorney's fees. No monetary penalty is specified.
Applies to: Data aggregators (entities that collect and sell or provide third-party access to personal information) and any person, business or association that publicly posts personal information
State, county and municipal agencies
Protects current, retired and recalled Rhode Island state judges, justices and magistrates, federal judges residing in Rhode Island, and their immediate family members

Rights it gives people

Honor requests submitted by an authorized agent accompanied by a notarized affidavit from the protected individual.R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-15-12(c)(5)

Practices it requires

After receiving a protected individual's notice, data aggregators may not sell, license, trade, purchase or otherwise provide the protected individual's or family members' personal information for consideration.R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-15-12(c)(1)
Persons, data aggregators and businesses must remove the protected personal information from publicly available content and controlled websites within 10 business days of a written request and not repost it without written permission, subject to listed exceptions (government, law enforcement, health, insurance, financial, fraud prevention, legal process).R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-15-12(c)(3)-(4)
After a request, do not transfer the protected individual's or family members' personally identifiable information to others except at the individual's request or to carry out the request.R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-15-12(c)(6)
State, county and municipal agencies must mark the information confidential and remove it from publicly available content within 72 hours of notice.R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-15-12(b) · Only if: Government agencies

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.

Unverified: The online code text fetched 2026-09-25 appears to predate the 2026 amendment (P.L. 2026, chs. 382 and 383); the amendment's agent-filing changes were checked only in the public law. last_amended assumes 'upon passage' equals the 06/19/2026 enactment date. | Definition of 'personal information' (home address, home and mobile phone numbers, personal email) was read from the statute; the definitions paragraph was only partly reviewed.

Research reference, not legal advice.