New Jersey law enforcement officers sue 118 data brokers for not removing personal info

pppOver the course of the last week 118 class action lawsuits were filed against data brokers who allegedly failed to respond to requests from about 20000 New Jersey law enforcement personnel asking to remove their personal information from the internetppNew Jersey law prohibits the disclosure of home addresses and unpublished telephone numbers for current and retired police officers prosecutors and judges along with their family members If that information is disclosed the law requires it be removed within 10 days of a takedown requestppFailure to do so could result in a 1000 fine per violation The law known as Daniels Law was passed after a New Jersey federal judges 20yearold son was shot to death at her home in 2020 by a disgruntled attorneyppThe law enforcement officers are seeking 1000 for each violation plus punitive damages and attorneys fees from the 118 data brokers meaning each lawsuit could cost individual data brokers at least 20 million and hit the industry with at least 23 billion in fines according to records found on a web portal for New Jersey courtsppThe recently filed lawsuits against the 118 data brokers contend that they failed to respond to takedown requests for a month beginning on January 6 Atlas Data Privacy Corp a company that helped many law enforcement officers make takedown requests filed the suits on behalf of the police officers and others working in law enforcementppBecause other law enforcement personnel could have made takedown requests without Atlass help the problem is likely broader in scope and more lawsuits could emergeppThe lawsuits filed last week include several examples of officers whose lives have been threatened due to their work investigating gangs and other criminal organizationsppAmong the plaintiffs is a police officer who worked with a task force targeting the violent Mara Salvatrucha13 MS13 gang for two years and received death threats that prompted him to relocate his family The gang used publicly available information to continue to threaten him according to the lawsuitppGang members intended to burn down a building with the officers mother insidebut set fire to an adjacent building by mistake the lawsuit says Phone calls between MS13 members discussing the premeditated murder of the detective and his family and the premeditated murder of the detectives mother were intercepted by jail wiretapsppAnother officer listed in the complaint as Jane Doe1 helped investigate a major criminal organization leading to a prosecution A subsequent search of digital devices taken from the organizations leadership turned up photos of the officers home including nighttime photography of her young childs lit up bedroom and playroom windows while the child was playing inside the lawsuit saysppFurther investigation revealed that the criminal organizations leadership had hired a private investigator who searched online data broker websites to obtain the officers home address the lawsuit says Having identified her home address text messages confirmed that they had initiated surveillance and were tracking Officer Doe1s movements to and from her home immediately prior to the task force initiating arrestsppAtlas did not immediately respond to a request for commentppData privacy advocates said the lawsuits highlight the need for data brokers to be regulated for all Americans and not just law enforcementppLaws that crack down on data brokers and compensate individuals when their personal data is illegally trafficked are a good thing said John Davisson litigation director at the Electronic Privacy Information Center a nonprofit which advocates for data privacy among other issuesppBut Davisson added that the lawsuits and the statute theyre based on are a reminder that law enforcement agencies are among the biggest customers of data brokers and frequently use their products to circumvent warrant requirementsppMany people besides law enforcement officers have reasons to fear for their lives said Nathalie Maréchal codirector of privacy and data for the Center for Democracy and Technology which fights for civil rights and liberties in the digital ageppMaréchal also pointed out how difficult it is to hide from data brokers even for those legally covered as is true for New Jersey law enforcementppThe process for removing ones physical address from the data broker ecosystem should be much easier and available to everyone Maréchal said Of course it would be even better to eliminate the trade in personal information altogether by enacting a comprehensive federal privacy law with strong data minimization and purpose limitationppShe added that companies shouldnt purchase information they dont need to do business with a given consumer and that home addresses should be handled with extreme care if they are collectedppBuying and selling peoples home addresses to anyone willing to pay for it should be prohibited full stop she saidppSuzanne Smalleyppis a reporter covering privacy disinformation and cybersecurity policy for The Record She was previously a cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop and Reuters Earlier in her career Suzanne covered the Boston Police Department for the Boston Globe and two presidential campaign cycles for Newsweek She lives in Washington with her husband and three childrenpp Copyright 2024 The Record from Recorded Future Newsp