FRONTLINEPRIVACY

Privacy in Massachusetts for first responders

What state law protects, what still leaks, and what we sweep beyond it.

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Massachusetts Address Confidentiality Program

Massachusetts maintains a state-level program that lets eligible officers, judges, and other protected workers use a substitute address for public records.

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Public-records carve-outs

  • M.G.L. Chapter 4 §7 cl. 26(o) and (p) — the Public Records Law exemption shields the home address, home telephone, and personal email of judicial employees, law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, corrections officers, and family members from public-records requests.
  • M.G.L. Chapter 6 §172 — CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) restrictions limit who can access criminal records and for what purposes.
  • M.G.L. Chapter 265 §43 (revised 2024) — strengthened criminal penalties for stalking and electronic harassment that include disclosure of personal information with intent to harass.
  • M.G.L. Chapter 51 §§4, 21, 44 / 950 CMR 49.00 — confidential voter registration available with court order or police chief affidavit.

Applicable laws

What protects you in Massachusetts

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 4 §7 clauses 26(o) and (p) are the main shield for sworn personnel. They exempt the home address, home telephone, and personal email of judicial employees, law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, corrections officers, and their family members from public-records requests. The exemption applies to the records themselves — once a request hits the agency, those fields stay redacted.

The MA Address Confidentiality Program, run through the Secretary of the Commonwealth, provides a substitute address for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, and certain other qualifying categories. Reproductive healthcare workers were added to eligibility in 2022.

The biggest gap: Massachusetts does not have a broker-removal statute — no equivalent of New Jersey's Daniel's Law (the NJ law that lets covered officers sue data brokers for failing to remove their home address). MA officers can't sue a broker themselves the way an NJ officer can. Multiple bills have been introduced. Nothing has passed yet. Federal judges in MA can use the Lieu Act. State and local officers can't.

What still leaks

Three sources stay open in Massachusetts:

  1. Registry of Deeds records. Suffolk, Norfolk, Plymouth, Middlesex, and the surrounding county registries publish online. Brokers scrape them.
  2. Court records. MA Trial Court publishes dockets and many filings online. Civil suits, divorce, traffic — addresses appear unless redacted at filing time.
  3. Out-of-state and commercial brokers. Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and the rest source from out-of-state aggregators and don't honor Massachusetts law.

Laws that work for you here

  • M.G.L. Chapter 4 §7 cl. 26(o) and (p) — the public-records exemption applies to the records themselves; agencies must redact your home address before responding to any request.
  • CORI restrictions (M.G.L. Chapter 6 §172) — limits the access channels for criminal-record data; not directly invokable against brokers, but a real legal frame around the data.
  • Confidential voter registration (M.G.L. Chapter 51 §§4, 21, 44) — file under 950 CMR 49.00 with a court order or police chief affidavit to keep your voter record off public lists.
  • Address Confidentiality Program — substitute-address program through the Secretary of the Commonwealth for survivors of qualifying offenses. Officers are not categorically eligible.

What we sweep that the state doesn't

The Chapter 4 §7(26)(c) exemption closes the agency disclosure path. We handle the brokers. Standard opt-outs across 200+ people-search sites, re-checked every two weeks. After any registry of deeds filing or court action, we re-check inside 30 days because those drive the fastest re-listings.

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