1 of 1
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2792 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 61
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Tackey Chan
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to filing slander against anonymous parties on the internet.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Tackey Chan2nd Norfolk1/19/2023Denise C. Garlick13th Norfolk2/15/2023 1 of 2
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2792 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 61
By Representative Chan of Quincy, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 61) of Tackey
Chan and Denise C. Garlick relative to filing actions of slander against anonymous parties on the
internet. Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 104 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act relative to filing slander against anonymous parties on the internet.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 91 of Chapter 231 is hereby amended by inserting in the following
2new paragraph:-
3 A plaintiff with the intent of filing against a defendant under this section, but is unable to
4do so because of a lack of a real name of the person committing the act and said real name is
5being held by a third party who provides the forum, which includes, but not limited to, paper,
6Internet and Telecommunications, by which the defendant is able to commit such an act. The
7third party shall release the name, address and relative contact information to the plaintiff within
8ten days of the plaintiff’s request; provided that the plaintiff states the intent is the file an action
9against the defendant under this section. Should the third party not comply with the plaintiff’s
10request, the plaintiff may seek a court order from district court, seeking the third party to release 2 of 2
11the information, so the plaintiff can initiate a filing against a defendant. The district court may
12impose penalties for non-compliance of a court order on the third party if there is no compliance.