Colorado legislature approves bill seeking to prevent 'doxxing' of healthcare workers

Colorado lawmakers have passed legislation that would ban the "doxxing" of healthcare workers, an act that reveals private or identifying information about an individual on the internet, opening them up to harassment and intimidation.

The state Senate passed House Bill 1041 March 4, after the state House passed it Feb. 14. Gov. Jared Polis must sign the bill before it becomes law.

In May 2021, Colorado banned the doxxing of public health workers, according to The New York Times.

The new legislation expands this ban to include child representatives, code enforcement officers, healthcare workers, mortgage servicers, and office of the respondent parents' counsel staff members and contractors.

Under the bill, these individuals are people "whose personal information may be withheld from the internet if the protected person believes dissemination of such information poses an imminent and serious threat to the protected person or the safety of the protected person's immediate family."

Personal information includes the protected person's full name and home address.

The Colorado bill comes as lawmakers in multiple states are moving to combat violence against healthcare workers.

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