HB 1479 | Denying social media access to people in PFA proceedings

Session: 2025-2026

ACLU-PA Position: Opposes

HB 1479 (PN 2593) would allow judges to deny social media access to people accused of stalking during Protection from Abuse (PFA) proceedings.

Currently, judges are permitted to deny people convicted of the crime of stalking from accessing social media while serving their sentence. This prohibition is permitted because a criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, PFA proceedings are part of the civil—not criminal—process. As such, HB 1479 would apply to people subject to a civil order, which does not require the same burden of proof before denying access to social media. This is likely unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court held that a statute prohibiting convicted sex offenders from accessing social networking websites violated the First Amendment because it was not narrowly tailored to advance a significant government interest:

“…[T]o foreclose access to social media altogether is to prevent the user from engaging in the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights. … Even convicted criminals—and in some instances especially convicted criminals—might receive legitimate benefits from these means for access to the world of ideas (the Internet), in particular if they seek to reform and to pursue lawful and rewarding lives.” Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (2017). Id. at 108.

Legislators could instead consider more narrowly tailoring restrictions, like prohibiting posting about the victim on social media, see Butler v. Small, 317 A.3d 566 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024) or ordering a defendant to submit to periodic monitoring of internet usage, see United States v. Hall, No. 24-1303, 2025 WL 227688, at *2 (3d Cir. Jan. 17, 2025).