Anti-Doxxing Act

2025-2026 Bill 4779: Anti-Doxxing Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Download
This Bill
in Microsoft Word Format
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
H. 4779
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Pope, Gilliam, Wooten, McCravy, Edgerton and Teeple
Companion/Similar bill(s): 786
Document Path: LC-0358CM26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the House
Summary: Anti-Doxxing Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

12/16/2025

House

Prefiled

12/16/2025

House

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary

1/13/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 88
)

1/13/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
House Journal-page 88
)

1/21/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Teeple

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/17/2025

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION
16-3-1093
SO AS TO CREATE DOXING AS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE AND TO PROVIDE
PENALTIES.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
A
rticle 11, Chapter 3, Title 16 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:

S
ection
16-3-1093
.
(
A) For the purposes of
this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(
1)
"Firefighter" means any person, paid or unpaid, who engages in rescue, fire
suppression, or related activities, under the supervision of a fire chief or
fire department in this State or who is employed by the South Carolina Forestry
Commission, State Fire Marshall, or a forestry district for the purpose of fire
protection.

(
2)
"Governmental function" means the provision of essential daily services that
include law enforcement, fire, sanitation, water, and parks, while also
managing land use, issuing permits, and promoting economic development within
the governmental entity's jurisdiction. Key functions also include running public
utilities, maintaining roads, enforcing local ordinances, and operating public
facilities such as libraries and schools, all with the goal of meeting local
needs and improving the quality of life for residents.

(
3)
"Law enforcement officer" means an appointed officer or employee hired by and
regularly on the payroll of the State or any of its political subdivisions, who
is granted statutory authority to enforce all or some of the criminal, traffic,
and penal laws of the State and who possesses, with respect to those laws, the
power to effect arrests for offenses committed or alleged to have been
committed.

(
4)
"Personal identifying information" includes, but is not limited to:

(
a)
home address;

(
b)
photographs or information of a victim's children, including the schools he
attends; or

(
c)
any other information that would enable a victim to be harassed, threatened, or
harmed.

(
5)
"Public servant" means a government official or employee.

(
B) It
is unlawful to:

(
1)
intentionally electronically publish, post, or provide personal identifying
information of an individual, with the intent that other persons will use that
information to harass or harm the individual, and the individual is actually
harassed or harmed; or

(
2)
intentionally electronically publish, post, or provide personal identifying
information of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or public servant, with
the intent that other persons will use that information to harass, harm, or
impede the duties of the law enforcement officer, firefighter, or public
servant, and the law enforcement officer, firefighter, or public servant is
actually harassed, harmed, or impeded from performing his governmental
function.

(
C) A
person convicted of a provision contained in subsection (B):

(
1)
for a first offense, is guilty of the misdemeanor crime of doxing and must be
imprisoned not more than three years; or

(
2)
for a second or subsequent offense, is guilty of the felony crime of doxing and
must be imprisoned not more than twenty years.

(
D)
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit:

(
1)
political speech protected by the First Amendment of the United States
Constitution; or

(
2)
the publication of contact information of public officials by any individual or
organization for the purpose of encouraging citizens to lobby public officials
for or against any policy or legislative act. For purposes of this subsection, "contact
information" means an official address, email, or telephone number used by the
public official for his public service.

S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 2:40 PM