Governor signs bill expanding crime victims’ privacy

One dangerous facet of cyberbullying is dealt with in a new state law, after the Oregon Legislature unanimously voted to modernize identity protection laws for persons who are victims of crime.

On Thursday , Gov. Kate Brown signed HB 3077 into law. The bill modernizes current victims privacy law to include digital information. Persons who have been victims of violence, or other types of crimes now have better protections of their identity and personal information here in Oregon.

Representative E. Werner Reschke’s background as a businessman in technology helped him recognize the need for modernizing current law with email and social media accounts to be added to the list of protected personal identifiers.

Reschke, R-Klamath Falls, offered the following statement in a news release Friday:

“Cyberbullying continues to be a growing problem in our society. This bill helps prevent some of our most vulnerable from being intimidated or attacked after a dramatic event in their lives.”

“The Legislature has made tremendous progress this session in helping better protect people who are harmed by others, whether violently or financially. My work on this bill has been bipartisan. I am proud to have led this effort, working across the aisle with both Democrats and Republicans to better our communities with modern protections for victims. Email and social media are now by default kept private for persons who are victims of crimes.”

Oregon law regulates the provision of a person who has experienced violence and their “personal identifiers,” in the criminal discovery process.

The statute, ORS 135.815, establishes a general rule that neither the district attorney nor the defense attorney may, in the absence of a court order, provide to the defendant a person who experienced violence or witness addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, credit or bank account information.

House Bill 3077 includes in this list a victim’s email address and identifying information associated with social media. The bill also authorizes a law enforcement agency to provide electronic notifications to a person who has experienced violence, if they provide the law enforcement agency a cellphone number or email address.