Sponsors (2)
The bill substantially strengthens remedies and accountability for unlawful disclosures of identifying or medical information, improving victims' ability to obtain relief and stop further disclosures, but it raises government liability and administrative burdens that could increase taxpayer costs and produce large payouts in some incidents.
People whose identifying or medical information is disclosed can recover statutory damages (at least $50,000 per discrete disclosure) and seek injunctive or declaratory relief (including preliminary injunctions), providing direct financial compensation to victims and a way to stop further unlawful disclosures quickly.
Prevailing claimants can recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs and sovereign immunity is waived for these claims, improving access to justice and enabling accountability of federal officers and agencies for privacy violations.
Taxpayers could face substantial liability costs if many violations occur, increasing government expenditures and fiscal exposure.
Large statutory damages measured 'per instance' could produce very high payouts for a single release event involving many discrete acts, raising concerns about overbroad liability and outsized awards.
Federal agencies and employees may face increased litigation risk and defensive record-handling costs, potentially slowing transparency, increasing redaction burdens, and raising administrative overhead.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows people harmed by federal disclosure of victims’ personally identifiable or sensitive information to sue the United States for each discrete failure to redact, with statutory damages and fees.
Official title: To provide a private cause of action for exposure of personally identifiable information of victims or victims' personal or medical files or similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy in releasing documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Introduced July 14, 2026 by Pramila Jayapal · Last progress July 14, 2026
Creates a private right of action allowing people harmed by federal disclosure of victims’ personally identifiable or sensitive personal/medical information to sue the United States for each discrete disclosure. It waives sovereign immunity for these suits, authorizes statutory damages (at least $50,000 per disclosure) or compensatory damages, awards attorneys’ fees and costs, and permits injunctive relief. The bill applies to violations on or after November 19, 2025 and sets a five-year statute of limitations measured from actual notice (or from enactment for pre-enactment notice).