Utah § 53-18-103 - Internet posting of personal information of public safety employees -- Prohibitions.

Full text of Utah Utah Code § 53-18-103 — Internet posting of personal information of public safety employees -- Prohibitions., with citation guidance and answers to common questions.

§ 53-18-103. Internet posting of personal information of public safety employees -- Prohibitions.

Effective 5/3/2023
53-18-103.  Internet posting of personal information of public safety employees -- Prohibitions.
(1)
(a) A state or local governmental agency that receives the form described in Subsection (1)(b) from a public safety employee may not publicly post on the Internet the personal information of the public safety employee employed by the state or local governmental agency.
(b) Each state or local government agency employing a public safety employee shall:
(i) provide a form for a public safety employee to request the removal or concealment of the public safety employee's personal information from the state or local government agencies' publicly accessible websites and databases;
(ii) inform the public safety employee how to submit a form under this section;
(iii) upon request, assist a public safety employee in completing the form;
(iv) include on the form a disclaimer informing the public safety employee that by submitting a completed form the public safety employee may not receive official announcements affecting the public safety employee's property, including notices about proposed annexations, incorporation, or zoning modifications; and
(v) require a form submitted by a public safety employee to be signed by:
(A) for a public safety employee who is a law enforcement officer, the highest ranking elected or appointed official in the officer's chain of command certifying that the individual requesting removal or concealment is a law enforcement officer; or
(B) for a public safety employee who is not a law enforcement officer, the public safety employee's supervisor.
(2) A county clerk, upon receipt of the form described in Subsection (1)(b) from a public safety employee, completed and submitted under this section, shall:
(a) classify the public safety employee's voter registration record in the system, as defined in Section 20A-2-501, as a private record; and
(b) classify the public safety employee's marriage licenses and marriage license applications, if any, as private records.
(3) A county recorder, treasurer, auditor, or tax assessor, upon receipt of the form described in Subsection (1)(b) from a public safety employee, completed and submitted under this section, shall:
(a) provide a method for the assessment roll and index and the tax roll and index that will block public access to the public safety employee's personal information; and
(b) provide to the public safety employee who submits the form a written disclaimer informing the public safety employee that the public safety employee may not receive official announcements affecting the public safety employee's property, including notices about proposed annexations, incorporations, or zoning modifications.
(4) A form submitted under this section remains in effect for the shorter of:
(a) four years from the date on which the form was signed by the public safety employee, regardless of whether the public safety employee's qualifying employment is terminated during the four years; or
(b) one year after official notice of the public safety employee's death is transmitted by the public safety employee's immediate family or the public safety employee's employing agency to all state and local government agencies that are reasonably expected to have records containing personal information of the deceased public safety employee.
(5) Notwithstanding Subsection (4), the public safety employee, or the public safety employee's immediate family if the public safety employee is deceased, may rescind the form at any time.
(6)
(a) An individual may not, with intent to frighten or harass a public safety employee, publicly post on the Internet the personal information of a public safety employee knowing the public safety employee is a public safety employee.
(b) Except as provided in Subsection (6)(c), a violation of Subsection (6)(a) is a class B misdemeanor.
(c) A violation of Subsection (6)(a) that results in bodily injury to the public safety employee, or a member of the public safety employee's immediate family, is a class A misdemeanor.
(d)
(i) Each act against a separate individual in violation of Subsection (6)(a) is a separate offense.
(ii) A defendant may also be charged separately with the commission of any other criminal conduct related to the commission of an offense under Subsection (6)(a).
(7)
(a) A business or association may not publicly post or publicly display on the Internet the personal information of a public safety employee if the public safety employee has, either directly or through an agent designated under Subsection (7)(c), provided to that business or association a written demand to not disclose the public safety employee's personal information.
(b) A written demand made under Subsection (7)(a) by a public safety employee is effective for four years beginning on the day the demand is delivered, regardless of whether the public safety employee's employment as a public safety employee has terminated during the four years.
(c) A public safety employee may designate in writing the public safety employee's employer or, for a public safety employee who is a law enforcement officer, a representative of a voluntary professional association of law enforcement officers to act on behalf of the officer and as the officer's agent to make a written demand under this chapter.
(d)
(i) A business or association that receives a written demand from a public safety employee under Subsection (7)(a) shall remove the public safety employee's personal information from public display on the Internet, including the removal of information provided to cellular telephone applications, within 24 hours of the delivery of the written demand, and shall ensure that the information is not posted again on the same Internet website or any other Internet website over which the recipient of the written demand maintains or exercises control.
(ii) After receiving the public safety employee's written demand, the person, business, or association may not publicly post or publicly display on the Internet, the personal information of the public safety employee.
(iii) This Subsection (7)(d) does not prohibit a telephone corporation, as defined in Section 54-2-1, or the telephone corporation's affiliate or other voice service provider, including providers of interconnected voice over Internet protocol service as defined in 47 C.F.R. 9.3, from transferring the public safety employee's personal information to any person, business, or association, if the transfer is authorized by federal or state law, regulation, order, terms of service, or tariff, or is necessary in the event of an emergency, or to collect a debt owed by the public safety employee to the telephone corporation or its affiliate.
(iv) This Subsection (7)(d) does not apply to a telephone corporation or other voice service provider, including providers of interconnected voice over Internet protocol service, with respect to directories or directories listings to the extent the entity offers a nonpublished listing option.
(8)
(a) A public safety employee whose personal information is made public as a result of a violation of Subsection (7) may bring an action seeking injunctive or declarative relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) If a court finds that a violation has occurred, the court may grant injunctive or declarative relief and shall award the public safety employee court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
(c) If the defendant fails to comply with an order of the court issued under Subsection (8)(b), the court may impose a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for the defendant's failure to comply with the court's order.
(9)
(a) A person, business, or association may not solicit, sell, or trade on the Internet the personal information of a public safety employee, if:
(i) the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the public safety employee's safety or the safety of the public safety employee's immediate family; and
(ii) the person making the information available on the Internet knows or reasonably should know of the imminent and serious threat.
(b)
(i) A public safety employee whose personal information is knowingly publicly posted or publicly displayed on the Internet may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(ii) If a jury or court finds that a defendant has committed a violation of Subsection (9)(a), the jury or court shall award damages to the public safety employee in the amount of triple the cost of actual damages or $4,000, whichever is greater.
(10) An interactive computer service or access software is not liable under Subsections (7)(d)(i) and (9) for information or content provided by another information content provider.
(11) Unless a state or local government agency receives a completed form directly from a public safety employee in accordance with Subsection (1), a state or local government official who makes information available for public inspection in accordance with state law is not in violation of this chapter.


Amended by Chapter 297, 2023 General Session

Source: official Utah text · Last verified 2026-08-27

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Section 53-18-103 ("Internet posting of personal information of public safety employees -- Prohibitions.") is part of the Utah Code, the codified statutory law of Utah. It sets out the legal rule or procedure described in the text above. Statutes are amended regularly, so always verify against the official source.

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