Australia: Man arrested for misusing new public sex offender registry

A Queensland man, Brian Allan Smith, has been charged under the new Daniel’s Law for allegedly publishing identifying details from the state’s newly launched public child sex offender register without police authorization. The alleged offense occurring was committed just after the register went live.

Daniel’s Law was introduced to give Queenslanders access to limited information about serious child sex offenders while including strict safeguards to prevent misuse, and carries significant penalties. Unauthorized publication or distribution of registry information can get up to three years’ imprisonment, and conduct that intimidates, harasses, or incites others to target registered individuals can result in up to ten years’ imprisonment. These provisions reflect a deliberate effort by Queensland legislators to balance greater transparency in child protection with robust deterrence against vigilantism or harassment of offenders.

By contrast, in the United States sex offender registries established under federal and state law (often referred to as Megan’s Law), detailed information about convicted sex offenders is generally made publicly accessible online with fewer explicit criminal penalties specifically tied to how that information is used. While individual states may have laws against harassment or violence, the public nature of U.S. registries means community members can freely search and share lists of names, addresses, and other identifying data, and this widespread accessibility has been linked to instances of harassment, vigilantism, and even violent attacks on persons identified in registries.

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