Bill > HB1436

This bill establishes comprehensive legal protections for personal digital information by creating new property rights and privacy safeguards. Specifically, the bill creates a legal presumption that when a third party takes possession of someone's unpublished personal information in a digital format (such as cloud storage), they create a mutual benefit bailment, meaning they are holding the information with the owner's consent and under specific contractual terms. The bill affirms that personal information remains the property of its original owner even after being digitized, and it provides strong constitutional protections against government access to digital documents and records. Under the bill, government entities would need a warrant based on probable cause to search or seize digital records, with only limited exceptions for public information, news reporting, activities of public officials, or preserving life and property from imminent threats. The legislation aims to protect individual privacy rights in the digital age while recognizing the evolving landscape of technology and information sharing. The bill will take effect 60 days after its passage and is expected to require additional resources for the Department of Justice to investigate and enforce these new property rights, potentially adding two new positions to the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau's Data Privacy Unit.

Justice

https://gc.nh.gov/bill_Status/billinfo.aspx?id=1667&inflect=2