NH HB1436

Establishes property rights in personal digital information, treating unpublished data stored on devices or cloud servers as the property of the original owner when it remains personally identifiable

Creates a legal presumption of bailment for mutual benefit when a third party takes possession of someone's unpublished personal information and stores it digitally, subject to contractual terms

Requires government entities to obtain a warrant based on probable cause before accessing, searching, or seizing digital documents and records, treating them as constitutionally protected "papers" or "effects" under state and federal law

Exempts from protection information that has been made public by its owner, used for news reporting on public concerns, derived from activities as a public official, or needed to preserve life or property from imminent threats

Estimated to cost $295,000 in FY 2027, $267,000 in FY 2028, and $275,000 in FY 2029 for the Department of Justice to add one investigator and one attorney position to enforce the new property rights