wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 6086 > Original Bill
A person shall not knowingly make available on the internet the personal information of an eligible individual if the dissemination of the personal information poses a threat to the eligible individual's safety or the safety of the eligible individual's immediate family .
It is not a violation of this section if an employee of a county auditor or county assessor publishes personal information, in good faith, on the website of the county auditor or county assessor in the ordinary course of carrying out public functions provided that the employee, county auditor, or county assessor complies with requests to shield or remove personal information pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.
Any agency, business, person, data broker, or website who receives a notice or request from an eligible individual or an eligible individual's authorized agent for removal of his or her personal information from the internet must comply within 10 business days following physical or electronic receipt of the request or notice to remove the individual's personal information.
An agency, business, person, data broker, or website may not disclose or redisclose including, but not limited to, on the internet, the personal information of any eligible individual who submits a request or notice for removal.
For the purposes of this section, no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.
For the purposes of this section:
"Authorized agent" means any persons or entities authorized to act on behalf of any eligible individual to submit or revoke a request for nondisclosure of personal information and to engage in communications and enforcement.
"Corrections person" means any employee or volunteer who by state, county, municipal, or combination thereof, statute has the responsibility for the confinement, care, management, training, treatment, education, supervision, or counseling of those whose civil rights have been limited in some way by legal sanction.
"Court clerk" means any individual performing the duties in RCW 2.32.050.
"Eligible individual" means a peace officer, corrections person, judicial officer, public defender, prosecutor, court clerk, person appointed to any position under RCW 34.12.030, or criminal justice participant described in RCW 9A.46.020(4).
"Immediate family" means an eligible individual's spouse, child, or parent and any other adult or child who lives in the same residence as the eligible individual.
"Judicial officer" means a justice, judge, commissioner, or magistrate of the United States supreme court, the United States district court, the United States court of appeals, the United States bankruptcy court, the Washington supreme court, court of appeals, superior court, district court, or municipal court, and administrative law judges appointed under Title 34 RCW.
"Personal information" means an eligible individual's home address, home telephone number, pager number, social security number, home email address, directions to the eligible individual's home, or photographs of the eligible individual's home or vehicle.
"Prosecutor" means a county prosecuting attorney, a city attorney, the attorney general, or a United States attorney and their assistants or deputies.
Any person whose personal information is made available on the internet as described in RCW 4.24.680(1) who suffers damages as a result of such conduct may bring an action against the person or organization who makes such information available, for actual damages sustained plus damages in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for each day the personal information was made available on the internet after expiration of the 10 business day deadline in RCW 4.24.680(3) or after the date of an order issued under RCW 4.24.690, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
A person is guilty of harassment if:
Without lawful authority, the person knowingly threatens:
To cause bodily injury immediately or in the future to the person threatened or to any other person; or
To cause physical damage to the property of a person other than the actor; or
To subject the person threatened or any other person to physical confinement or restraint; or
Maliciously to do any other act which is intended to substantially harm the person threatened or another with respect to his or her physical health or safety; and
The person by words or conduct places the person threatened in reasonable fear that the threat will be carried out. "Words or conduct" includes, in addition to any other form of communication or conduct, the sending of an electronic communication.
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Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a person who harasses another is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
A person who harasses another is guilty of a class C felony if any of the following apply: (i) The person has previously been convicted in this or any other state of any crime of harassment, as defined in RCW 9A.46.060, of the same victim or members of the victim's family or household or any person specifically named in a no-contact or no-harassment order; (ii) the person harasses another person under subsection (1)(a)(i) of this section by threatening to kill the person threatened or any other person; (iii) the person harasses a criminal justice participant or election official who is performing his or her official duties at the time the threat is made; or (iv) the person harasses a criminal justice participant or election official because of an action taken or decision made by the criminal justice participant or election official during the performance of his or her official duties. For the purposes of (b)(iii) and (iv) of this subsection, the fear from the threat must be a fear that a reasonable criminal justice participant or election official would have under all the circumstances. Threatening words do not constitute harassment if it is apparent to the criminal justice participant or election official that the person does not have the present and future ability to carry out the threat.
Any criminal justice participant or election official who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under subsection (2)(b)(iii) or (iv) of this section, and any person residing with him or her, shall be eligible for the address confidentiality program created under RCW 40.24.030.
For purposes of this section, a criminal justice participant includes any:
Federal, state, or local court judicial officer;
Federal, state, or local court administrator or staff;
Federal, state, or local law enforcement agency employee;
Federal, state, or local prosecuting attorney or deputy prosecuting attorney;
Staff member of any adult corrections institution or local adult detention facility;
Staff member of any juvenile corrections institution or local juvenile detention facility;
Community corrections officer, probation, or parole officer;
Member of the indeterminate sentence review board;
Defense attorney; or
State or local clerk staff.
For the purposes of this section, an election official includes any staff member of the office of the secretary of state or staff member of a county auditor's office, regardless of whether the member is employed on a temporary or part-time basis, whose duties relate to voter registration or the processing of votes as provided in Title 29A RCW.
The penalties provided in this section for harassment do not preclude the victim from seeking any other remedy otherwise available under law.
A person is guilty of cyber harassment if the person, with intent to harass or intimidate any other person, and under circumstances not constituting telephone harassment, makes an electronic communication to that person or a third party and the communication:
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Uses any lewd, lascivious, indecent, or obscene words, images, or language, or suggests the commission of any lewd or lascivious act;
Is made anonymously or repeatedly;
Contains a threat to inflict bodily injury immediately or in the future on the person threatened or to any other person; or
Contains a threat to damage, immediately or in the future, the property of the person threatened or of any other person; and
With respect to any offense committed under the circumstances identified in (a)(iii) or (iv) of this subsection:
Would cause a reasonable person, with knowledge of the sender's history, to suffer emotional distress or to fear for the safety of the person threatened; or
Reasonably caused the threatened person to suffer emotional distress or fear for the threatened person's safety.
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Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, cyber harassment is a gross misdemeanor.
A person who commits cyber harassment is guilty of a class C felony if any of the following apply:
The person has previously been convicted in this or any other state of any crime of harassment, as defined in RCW 9A.46.060, of the same victim or members of the victim's family or household or any person specifically named in a no-contact or no-harassment order;
The person cyber harasses another person under subsection (1)(a)(iii) of this section by threatening to kill the person threatened or any other person;
The person cyber harasses a criminal justice participant or election official who is performing the participant's official duties or election official's official duties at the time the communication is made;
The person cyber harasses a criminal justice participant or election official because of an action taken or decision made by the criminal justice participant or election official during the performance of the participant's official duties or election official's official duties; or
The person commits cyber harassment in violation of any protective order protecting the victim.
Any criminal justice participant or election official who is a target for threats or harassment prohibited under subsection (2)(b)(iii) or (iv) of this section, and any family members residing with the participant or election official, shall be eligible for the address confidentiality program created under RCW 40.24.030.
For purposes of this section,
"criminal justice participant" has the definition provided in RCW 9A.46.020(4).
For the purposes of this section, an election official includes any staff member of the office of the secretary of state or staff member of a county auditor's office, regardless of whether the member is employed on a temporary or part-time basis, whose duties relate to voter registration or the processing of votes as provided in Title 29A RCW.
The penalties provided in this section for cyber harassment do not preclude the victim from seeking any other remedy otherwise available under law.
Any offense committed under this section may be deemed to have been committed either at the place from which the communication was made or at the place where the communication was received.
For purposes of this section, "electronic communication" means the transmission of information by wire, radio, optical cable, electromagnetic, or other similar means. "Electronic communication" includes, but is not limited to, email, internet-based communications, pager service, and electronic text messaging.
Bailiffs of the supreme court are authorized to conduct threat assessments on behalf of supreme court judicial officers. The supreme court shall ensure that supreme court bailiffs are qualified by training and experience if they perform these duties.
Bailiffs of the supreme court are authorized to receive criminal history record information that includes nonconviction data for purposes exclusively related to the investigation of any person making a threat as defined in RCW 9A.04.110 against a supreme court judicial officer. Dissemination or use of criminal history records or nonconviction data for purposes other than authorized in this section is prohibited.
Founded threats investigated under this section must be referred to local law enforcement for further action. Local law enforcement is authorized to report the outcome and any anticipated action to bailiffs of the supreme court.
Court security consultants of the administrative office of the courts are authorized to conduct threat assessments on behalf of judicial officers. The administrative office of the courts shall ensure that court security consultants are qualified by training and experience if they perform these duties.
Court security consultants of the administrative office of the courts are authorized to receive criminal history record information that includes nonconviction data exclusively for purposes related to the investigation of any threat or person making a threat as defined in RCW 9A.04.110 against a judicial officer. Dissemination or use of criminal history records or nonconviction data for purposes other than authorized in this section is prohibited.
Founded threats investigated under this section must be referred to local law enforcement for further action. Local law enforcement is authorized to report the outcome and any anticipated action to the court security consultants of the administrative office of the courts.
Conviction records may be disseminated without restriction.
Any criminal history record information which pertains to an incident that occurred within the last twelve months for which a person is currently being processed by the criminal justice system, including the entire period of correctional supervision extending through final discharge from parole, when applicable, may be disseminated without restriction.
Criminal history record information which includes nonconviction data may be disseminated by a criminal justice agency to another criminal justice agency for any purpose associated with the administration of criminal justice, or in connection with the employment of the subject of the record by a criminal justice or juvenile justice agency, except as provided under RCW 13.50.260. A criminal justice agency may respond to any inquiry from another criminal justice agency without any obligation to ascertain the purpose for which the information is to be used by the agency making the inquiry.
Criminal history record information which includes nonconviction data may be disseminated by a criminal justice agency to implement a statute, ordinance, executive order, or a court rule, decision, or order which expressly refers to records of arrest, charges, or allegations of criminal conduct or other nonconviction data and authorizes or directs that it be available or accessible for a specific purpose.
Criminal history record information which includes nonconviction data may be disseminated to individuals and agencies pursuant to a contract with a criminal justice agency to provide services related to the administration of criminal justice. Such contract must specifically authorize access to criminal history record information, but need not specifically state that access to nonconviction data is included. The agreement must limit the use of the criminal history record information to stated purposes and insure the confidentiality and security of the information consistent with state law and any applicable federal statutes and regulations.
Criminal history record information which includes nonconviction data may be disseminated to individuals and agencies for the express purpose of research, evaluative, or statistical activities pursuant to an agreement with a criminal justice agency. Such agreement must authorize the access to nonconviction data, limit the use of that information which identifies specific individuals to research, evaluative, or statistical purposes, and contain provisions giving notice to the person or organization to which the records are disseminated that the use of information obtained therefrom and further dissemination of such information are subject to the provisions of this chapter and applicable federal statutes and regulations, which shall be cited with express reference to the penalties provided for a violation thereof.
Criminal history record information that includes nonconviction data may be disseminated to the state auditor solely for the express purpose of conducting a process compliance audit procedure and review of any deadly force investigation pursuant to RCW 43.101.460. Dissemination or use of nonconviction data for purposes other than authorized in this subsection is prohibited.
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Criminal history record information that includes nonconviction data may be disseminated to bailiffs of the supreme court solely for the express purpose of investigations under RCW 2.04.260. Dissemination or use of nonconviction data for purposes other than authorized in this subsection is prohibited.
Criminal history record information that includes nonconviction data may be disseminated to court security consultants of the administrative office of the courts for the express purpose of investigations under section 6 of this act. Dissemination or use of nonconviction data for purposes other than authorized in this subsection is prohibited.
Every criminal justice agency that maintains and disseminates criminal history record information must maintain information pertaining to every dissemination of criminal history record information except a dissemination to the effect that the agency has no record concerning an individual. Information pertaining to disseminations shall include:
An indication of to whom (agency or person) criminal history record information was disseminated;
The date on which the information was disseminated;
The individual to whom the information relates; and
A brief description of the information disseminated.
The information pertaining to dissemination required to be maintained shall be retained for a period of not less than one year.