A Freeport lawmaker wants to give Maine families the ability to sue anyone who posts personal information about a child that could reasonably lead to harassment or violence.

Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The so-called anti-doxxing bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Melanie Sachs, was filed in early January, before Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, made social media posts with photos of a transgender athlete in the Cumberland-North Yarmouth school district. The posts went viral and last week prompted House Democrats to formally censure Libby.

The bill is supported by parents of transgender children, who submitted written testimony about online harassment and bullying of their children and about the fear their families experience when other children are targeted.

Sachs said she sponsored the bill after a student in her community was targeted online by an adult, leading to international attention and harassment. She said she was shocked to learn that the family had no recourse under state law.

“I just found that horrifying that an adult would target a student in any way for anything,” Sachs said. “I don’t know what would compel an adult to target a child.”

Sachs said she did not want to provide details about the earlier incident. But in 2023, a transgender cross-country runner in her district was targeted by conservative activists in online posts that included photos and personal information.

Last month, Libby posted photos of another transgender athlete who won a state title in pole vaulting. Libby shared the photos, which identified the student’s school district, along with the student’s first name.

The post was amplified by conservative media and eventually caught the eye of President Trump, who confronted Gov. Janet Mills in a room full of other governors at a White House event and demanded that Maine stop allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.

Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the state, and Maine and the school district are now facing federal investigations because of the state’s policy allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity.

The school district beefed up security when students returned to school from February break, because of the anger and hostility the post had generated against the student, district and transgender athletes generally.

Libby was censured by the Legislature in a party-line vote, losing her ability to vote and speak on the House floor until she apologizes, which she has said she does not plan to do.

Republicans opposed the censure, defending Libby’s right to free speech. They argued that the House of Representatives’ rules and code of ethics do not address social media use and that Libby’s post did not violate any of Facebook’s community standards.

House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, did not respond to a message on Friday asking about Sachs’ bill. The bill has seven co-sponsors, all of them Democrats.

During the floor debate that preceded the censure, Faulkingham said the punishment would set a bad precedent and make it too easy to target members of the minority party. “This censure motion makes a mockery of the censure process,” Faulkingham said.

Sachs’ bill, LD 537, is scheduled for a public hearing on Monday.

It defines doxxing as “the disclosure of personal identifying information of a person, without that person’s consent, and when that disclosure is intended to cause, and in fact either directly or indirectly causes” stalking, physical harm, serious property damage, reasonable fear for that person’s physical safety, or the safety of a close relation.

Personally identifiable information includes home addresses, work addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, legal documents, such as a driver’s license or Social Security card; and “medical, financial, educational, consumer or employment information or records in combination with the person’s legal name or prior legal name, alias, photograph or likeness, mother’s name or any prior legal name or date or place of birth.”

As of Friday afternoon, the bill had the support of more than 55 people who provided written testimony in advance of the hearing.

Several of the supporters were school teachers and counselors who have firsthand experience with the dangers of online bullying, as well as parents of transgender students. And they highlighted the dangers and risks of violence in response to emotionally charged political and social issues.

Alyssa Corson said she is a social worker and the mother of a transgender child. She said the past week has been frightening as she tried to reassure concerned parents, while also assessing the safety of her own family.

“I have been in fear all week for the family that has been (outed) for their safety both emotionally and physically,” Corson said. “The comments we are seeing online are atrocious and show the level of hate in our own community. This leads to me wondering how safe is my own family and child. … Children should never have to live in fear that who they are will be put out to the general public and then cause fear for their safety and lives.”

Jennifer Sculli said her daughter was targeted by a doxxing attempt after she spoke in support of transgender rights as a 17-year-old student representative on the local school board.

“This meeting was then live streamed on an individual’s social media X platform, in which this individual ‘narrated’ the meeting and allowed comments,” she wrote. “Not only was my daughter openly mocked, but comments included ‘These are brainwashed children that they use as useful idiots. This is why we hit children.’”

Sculli said her daughter was targeted in a series of public records requests for  her text messages, social media accounts and other electronic communications. The individual also filed a public records request for correspondence about where she was applying for college.

“Outside of trying to harass and intimidate her, there was no reason for this information to be public,” Sculli wrote. “Thankfully, this FOAA was denied, as I have no doubt that this information would have also been shared on social media.”

Sachs said her bill is not about any single lawmaker, or any particular group of children. And she hopes it will receive bipartisan support.

“It’s just a bill about kids, and we want to make sure kids are OK,” said Sachs, who is a social worker. “I hope people see this as someplace that we can coalesce. We can disagree about policy, but we should not use children as targets or political pawns.”