Bill
Bill > HF201
IA HF201
A bill for an act relating to harassment by the dissemination, publication, distribution, or posting of personal information, and making penalties applicable.(See HF 849.)
summary
Introduced
02/03/2025
02/03/2025
In Committee
02/03/2025
02/03/2025
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
91st General Assembly
Bill Summary
This bill relates to harassment by the dissemination, publication, distribution, or posting of personal information. The bill provides that a person commits harassment when the person purposefully and without legitimate purpose disseminates, publishes, distributes, or posts personal information about another person, without the other person’s consent, with the intent to threaten, intimidate, annoy, or alarm the other person, or with the intent to encourage or entice third parties to threaten, intimidate, annoy, or alarm the other person. A violation of this provision of the bill is harassment in the first degree, which is an aggravated misdemeanor. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine of at least $855 but not more than $8,540. The bill defines “personal information” as a person’s contact information or the contact information of the person’s family, including but not limited to the person’s or family’s home address, phone number, email address, social media profile, place of employment, photographic or film depictions of the person or the person’s family, or any other information designed to allow other persons to threaten, intimidate, annoy, or alarm the person.
AI Summary
This bill amends Iowa's harassment laws to create a new criminal offense related to the unauthorized dissemination of personal information. Specifically, a person can now be charged with harassment if they purposefully and without legitimate purpose share another person's personal information without consent, with the intent to threaten, intimidate, annoy, alarm, or encourage others to do the same. "Personal information" is broadly defined to include contact details like home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media profiles, workplace information, and photographs of the person or their family. A violation of this new provision would be classified as a first-degree harassment offense, which is considered an aggravated misdemeanor. As an aggravated misdemeanor, the offense is punishable by up to two years in confinement and a fine ranging from $855 to $8,540. The bill aims to provide legal protection against malicious sharing of personal information that could potentially endanger or cause significant distress to the victim.
Committee Categories
Justice
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 849. (on 03/07/2025)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=91&ba=HF201 |
| BillText | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/91/attachments/HF201.html |
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