Whitepages.com Illegally Publishes the Private Info of West Virginia Public Officials, Class Action Lawsuit Says

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A retired West Virginia law enforcement officer claims in a proposed class action lawsuit that Whitepages.com illegally published his home address and personal phone number without consent.

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According to the 15-page lawsuit, the online directory site’s conduct has violated a West Virginia statute designed to protect the privacy and safety of public officials and their family members. The complaint explains that the statute takes after New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law, which was enacted after an assailant targeted U.S. District Judge Esther Salas and her family at their home in July 2020. The case says the gunman, a self-described anti-feminist lawyer who had a case before Judge Salas, found her address online and fatally shot her son, Daniel Anderl.

Under the West Virginia bill, businesses are prohibited from disclosing, redisclosing or otherwise making available the home address or unpublished home or personal telephone number of any active, formerly active or retired judicial officer, prosecutor, federal or state public defender, federal or state assistant public defender, or law enforcement officer without their written permission, the filing shares. Per the case, Whitepages.com has posted the personal information of thousands of public servants in West Virginia who never gave the company their permission to do so.

“[The defendant’s] conduct has exposed [the plaintiff] and those similarly situated to harassment and/or risk of harm to life or property,” the Whitepages lawsuit contends.

The filing stresses that these publicly available personal details can be used for nefarious purposes, including by criminals, disputants, offenders or other individuals with whom the public servants dealt in the line of their duties.

As Judge Salas remarked in a statement following the tragic death of her son, public servants must make tough decisions that can sometimes leave people angry and upset, the complaint relays.

“Unfortunately, for my family, the threat was real and the free flow of information from the Internet allowed this sick and depraved human being to find all our personal information and target us,” Judge Salas said.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone with a West Virginia address who is an active, formerly active or retired judicial officer, prosecutor, federal or state public defender, federal or state assistant public defender, law enforcement officer or anyone else residing at such person’s home address, whose home address and/or unpublished home or personal telephone number was disclosed, redisclosed or otherwise made available by Whitepages, Inc.

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