Under House Bill 142, school officials cannot make students reveal their accounts, supply account information, nor force students to add school officials to their accounts. The bill does not apply to accounts created at a school or on its computers.
In the case of minors, the school district would have to request information from parents.
Opponents said the bill is too broad and would amount to the state dictating policy to private institutions.But Rep. Ralph Boehm, R-Litchfield, said the bill needs to be broad. “Private students have rights too,” he told the House.
A similar law was approved last year by the House, but the Senate could not agree on a compromise and the bill died.If the bill passes the Senate and the governor signs it, New Hampshire would join 12 other states with similar laws.
Lawmakers did approve a similar bill last year forbidding employers from requiring workers to turn over social media account information. House Bill 142’s prime sponsor, Rep. Katherine Rogers, D-Concord, has said it is an issue of freedom and privacy.
But public school officials claim the bill would hamper their ability to investigate cyberbullying cases.Under the state’s bullying law, school officials can review social media accounts to determine if bullying occurred.
But Rogers, a former county attorney, said police can seek subpoenas and search warrants if they need to access an account.The bill now goes to the Senate.
©2015 The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
