Malicious Sharing of Personal Information of a General Assembly Member or Judicial Officer (2026 SF 2280, Division III)
Iowa Official Doxxing Law
Other · Location
This 2026 criminal law makes it a serious misdemeanor to share the home address, personal phone number, or physical location of an Iowa legislator, judge, or their immediate family with intent to cause harm, to put them in fear of serious harm, or to interfere with their official duties. It is narrow: it covers only those officials and requires malicious intent.
- Where
- Iowa
- Citation
- Iowa Code 708.18 (new section enacted by 2026 Iowa Acts ch. 1077, s. 8)
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 2026-07-01
- Enforced by
- County attorneys and the Attorney General (criminal prosecution)
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- Serious misdemeanor (708.18(2)).
- Applies to
- Any person sharing the personal physical address, personal phone number, or physical location of an Iowa legislator, judicial officer, or their immediate family members (708.18(1), (3)(c))
Practices it requires
- Do not share the personal address, personal phone number, or physical location of a legislator, judicial officer, or immediate family member with intent to cause harm, place them in fear of serious harm, or prevent or interrupt their job duties.Iowa Code 708.18(1)
Sources
- Official text
- 2026 Iowa Acts ch. 1077 (SF 2280), Division III, approved May 6, 2026
- Iowa Code 3.7 (Acts approved before July 1 take effect July 1)
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: The act was read for an effective-date clause only in the flattened text of Division III; no special effective date was found, so July 1, 2026 is inferred from Iowa Code 3.7.
Research reference, not legal advice.