BATON ROUGE – Louisiana officials soon will be able to sue citizens, businesses and government entities for posting their biographical information online.
A new law signed earlier this year by Gov. Jeff Landry would allow such lawsuits if online posts including an official’s personal identifying information aren’t taken down upon request from the official.
The violators also would face criminal penalties, including up to 90 days in prison as well as a $1,000 fine per instance.
Other states have similar laws, but Louisiana’s appears to be more sweeping than most others by giving such powers to more elected officials and allowing more reasons for them to take action.
Active and retired judges in Louisiana, as well as family members who live with them, already can file lawsuits and criminal chargers over such postings. But the new law will expand that to include current statewide elected officials, state legislators and public service commissioners, current or retired district attorneys, current or retired assistant district attorneys, and current or retired district attorney investigators. Spouses, children and other dependents who live with these officials also will be covered.
Information that will be applicable includes home addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, marital records, birth dates, schools and daycares of children, places of worship and employment locations of others in the households.
Government entities will have 15 days to remove such information when requested or provide a reason why they can’t. Individuals and businesses will have 72 hours to do so.
The law applies to nearly anything posted online, including news stories, campaign contributor databases, private websites and social media.
Earlier this year, an attorney called the new law “wildly unconstitutional.”
“Effectively, the Louisiana Legislature has decided to criminalize the publication of a church birthday calendar, the mortgage documents required by federal law, birth announcements, engagement party RSVP websites and traffic tickets,” Scott Sternberg wrote on behalf of the Louisiana Press Association. “This law will undoubtedly lead to more litigation, higher costs for public and private entities, and a chilling effect on speech.”
