What's happening
This bill creates a legal cause of action for individuals whose private life is publicized in a highly offensive way without legitimate public concern.
Why it matters
Empowers individuals to protect their privacy. by allowing them to sue if highly personal information about their lives is publicized in a way that would offend a reasonable person and is not justifiable as being of public interest.
Expands the definition of “publicity”. to cover not only information shared with the general public but also disclosures to specific groups who have a special relationship to the affected individual, addressing harms in both broad and targeted contexts (e.g., workplace, schools, social groups).
Provides for a range of remedies. , including injunctive relief (to stop further spread), punitive and compensatory damages, and recovery of court costs and attorney’s fees, making it more feasible for harmed individuals to seek redress.
Raises the standard for personal privacy protection in New York. , potentially increasing accountability for individuals or entities (including employers, media, or acquaintances) who invade privacy, and setting clearer boundaries for what constitutes an actionable invasion of private life.
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Who cares
People whose private lives are exposed
They would gain a right to sue over publicity that is highly offensive to a reasonable person and not of legitimate public concern.
News outlets and other publishers
They could face claims for publicizing private matters that meet the bill’s offensiveness and lack-of-public-concern standards.
People sharing private information with specific groups
Disclosure to a group with a special relationship to the affected person would count as publicity, even without disclosure to the public at large.
Plaintiffs’ and defense attorneys
The bill would allow discretionary awards of injunctions, punitive and compensatory damages, and reasonable court costs and attorney’s fees.
Headline styles
Protect Private Life Rights
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to governmental operations
- Referred to governmental operations
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
378
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to establishing a cause of action for publicity given to private life
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 50-h to read as follows:
§ 50-h. Publicity given to private life. 1. A person shall have a cause of action against any person who gives publicity to a matter concerning the private life of such principal person where the matter publicized is of a kind that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person and is not of legitimate concern to the public.
2. In any action commenced pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the finder of fact, in its discretion, may award injunctive relief, punitive damages, compensatory damages and reasonable court costs and attorney's fees.
3. For purposes of this section, "publicity" shall mean that the matter is made public, by communicating it to the public at large, or to so many persons that the matter must be regarded as substantially certain to become one of public knowledge. The term "publicity" shall also mean that the matter is shared to a specific group of persons who have a special relationship to the individual whose matter was publicized.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01923-01-5
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.