Privacy Guide for Elected Officials

Threats against elected officials in the United States have reached unprecedented levels. The U.S. Capitol Police investigated nearly 15,000 threat cases against members of Congress in 2025 alone — up from 9,474 in 2024 and roughly double the figure from just three years earlier. For elected officials at every level of government, protecting personal information online isn't just a privacy concern — it's a matter of physical safety.

Why Elected Officials Face Elevated Privacy Risks

Public officials are uniquely vulnerable because their names, roles, and political positions are matters of public record. This visibility makes it trivially easy for bad actors to locate personal details through data broker websites, public filings, and social media. The consequences can be severe:

• Doxxing: Malicious publication of personal details like home addresses, phone numbers, and family members' names online, often to incite harassment or violence
• Swatting: False emergency reports sent to law enforcement to trigger an armed response at the official's home, creating immediate physical danger
• Threats to family members: Spouses, children, and other relatives become collateral targets when an official's personal information is exposed
• Stalking and surveillance: Disgruntled constituents or extremists using exposed data to physically follow or monitor officials

In a stark reminder of these dangers, a gunman in June 2025 used people-search websites to find the home addresses of Minnesota state legislators before shooting two representatives and their spouses. The personal information was freely available on data broker sites.

Essential Privacy Steps for Elected Officials

1. Remove Your Information From Data Brokers

The single most important step is removing your personal information from people-search sites and data brokers. These sites are the primary source attackers use to find home addresses and family details. You can submit individual opt-out requests to each broker, but with over 100 sites to manage, many officials use an automated removal service like PrivacyOn that handles the entire process and monitors for re-listings.

2. Obscure Property Ownership Records

Public property records are a major source of address exposure. Consider registering your home under an LLC or a trust rather than your personal name. Consult with a real estate attorney about your state's options for keeping ownership records private.

3. Use a P.O. Box or Office Address for All Public Filings

Whenever possible, use your government office address or a P.O. box for voter registration, vehicle registration, campaign filings, and any other public documents. Avoid using your home address on anything that becomes part of the public record.

4. Lock Down Social Media

While elected officials often need a public social media presence, take care to separate personal and professional accounts. Never share photos that reveal your home location, daily routines, or your children's schools. Ensure family members also tighten their privacy settings and avoid posting location-revealing content.

5. Secure All Digital Accounts

Enable multi-factor authentication on every account — email, social media, banking, and government systems. Use unique, strong passwords managed by a password manager. Officials are high-value targets for phishing and account takeover attacks.

6. Monitor for Personal Information Exposure

Set up Google Alerts for your name, your family members' names, and your home address. Use dark web monitoring to detect if your personal information appears in data breaches. PrivacyOn includes dark web monitoring alongside its data broker removal service, giving you continuous visibility into your exposure.

7. Coordinate With Law Enforcement

Report all credible threats to the appropriate agencies. At the federal level, the U.S. Capitol Police handles threats against members of Congress. State and local officials should establish relationships with their local law enforcement threat assessment teams.

Laws Protecting Elected Officials' Privacy

Several laws have been enacted in response to the growing threat landscape:

• Daniel's Law (New Jersey, 2020): Enacted after the murder of federal Judge Esther Salas's son by an attacker who found her address online. Prohibits publishing home addresses and phone numbers of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers.
• Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act (Federal): Extends protections to federal judges and their families by prohibiting agencies and data brokers from publishing or selling their personal information.
• State anti-doxxing laws: Since 2020, at least 19 states have enacted 54 bills criminalizing doxxing as a standalone offense or under harassment statutes. Many of these provide enhanced protections for public officials.
• California AB 302: Would require data brokers to proactively delete elected officials' and judges' data from their databases.

Building a Comprehensive Privacy Strategy

Protecting your privacy as an elected official requires ongoing vigilance. Data brokers constantly refresh their databases from public records, which means removed information frequently reappears. A one-time cleanup isn't enough — you need continuous monitoring and removal.

PrivacyOn was built for exactly this scenario. With automated removal from over 100 data broker sites, 24/7 monitoring, dark web scanning, and family plans that cover your spouse and children, it provides the comprehensive protection that public officials need. Given the escalating threat environment, proactive data removal isn't optional — it's essential for the safety of elected officials and their families.