Defamation and Online Harassment Laws in Idaho

Civil defamation in Idaho comes mainly from court-made common law. A plaintiff must show that the defendant communicated information about the plaintiff to others, that the information was defamatory, and that the plaintiff was harmed as a result. By statute, a single publication, such as one edition of a newspaper or one broadcast, supports only one lawsuit, and all damages from it must be claimed in that one case.

Sources1Siercke v. Siercke, 167 Idaho 709, 476 P.3d 376 (2020)2Idaho Code § 6-702 (Uniform Single Publication Act)

Idaho's criminal code still includes a libel chapter. It defines libel as a malicious defamation expressed in writing, print, signs or pictures, and anyone who publishes a libel willfully and with malicious intent to injure faces a fine of up to $5,000 or up to six months in county jail. A 2025 House bill that would have replaced this chapter with a new criminal libel law was printed but, according to the legislature's bill record, went no further.

Sources3Idaho Code § 18-4801 (libel defined)4Idaho Code § 18-4802 (punishment for libel)5Idaho Legislature, 2025 House Bill 306 (bill status)

Idaho Code § 5-219(5) gives a plaintiff two years to bring a libel or slander lawsuit. The same two-year period applies to claims such as assault, battery and false imprisonment.

Source6Idaho Code § 5-219(5)

Related guide: Statute of limitations for defamation in every state

Idaho recognizes defamation per se, where a plaintiff does not have to prove special damages. The Idaho Supreme Court has listed four categories: statements accusing someone of a crime, of having a loathsome disease, of serious sexual misconduct, or of something incompatible with their business, trade or profession. A false accusation of a crime qualifies if the crime is punishable by imprisonment in a state or federal institution or is seen by the public as involving moral turpitude. In September 2026 the court confirmed the business category still applies, but only when the statement bears on the person's fitness for their particular line of work.

Sources1Siercke v. Siercke, 167 Idaho 709, 476 P.3d 376 (2020)7Taylor v. Davis, Idaho Supreme Court Docket No. 52831 (Sept. 25, 2026)

Related guide: What defamation per se means

Idaho adopted the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act in 2025, and it applies to lawsuits filed or claims asserted on or after January 1, 2026. A person sued over speech, press, assembly, petition or association on a matter of public concern, or over statements in government proceedings, can file a special motion for expedited relief, which generally pauses the case, including discovery. If the moving party wins the motion, the court must award court costs, reasonable attorney's fees and expenses, and a denial can be appealed as a matter of right.

Sources8Idaho Code §§ 6-3901 to 6-3915 (Uniform Public Expression Protection Act)9Idaho Code § 6-3913 (applies to actions filed on or after Jan. 1, 2026)10Idaho Code § 6-3910 (costs and attorney's fees)11Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Anti-SLAPP Legal Guide: Idaho

Related guide: Anti-SLAPP laws by state

For a libel in a newspaper, or a libel or slander broadcast on radio or television, Idaho limits the plaintiff to actual damages unless a correction was demanded and not published. The written demand must be served within 20 days after the plaintiff learns of the statement. If the outlet does not run an equally prominent correction within three weeks, broader damages may become available, although punitive damages still require proof of actual malice.

Source12Idaho Code § 6-712

Truth is central: when speech involves public issues, the plaintiff must prove the statements are false, and minor inaccuracies do not matter if the statement is true in substance. Public figures must show, with clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Reports to police are not absolutely privileged, but a qualified privilege can apply and is lost through abuse such as malice or bad faith.

Sources13Steele v. Spokesman-Review, Idaho Supreme Court Docket No. 27174 (Dec. 31, 2002)1Siercke v. Siercke, 167 Idaho 709, 476 P.3d 376 (2020)

Idaho's stalking law covers someone who knowingly and maliciously engages in a course of repeated unwanted contact that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses a person and would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress, or that would make a reasonable person fear death or physical injury. Unwanted contact expressly includes electronic surveillance and sending electronic communications. Second-degree stalking is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail; it becomes first-degree stalking, a felony, when aggravating factors are present, such as violating a protection order.

Sources14Idaho Code § 18-7906 (stalking in the second degree)15Idaho Code § 18-7905 (stalking in the first degree)

Related guide: Cyberstalking laws explained

It is a crime in Idaho to contact someone by phone, email, text message or other electronic communication with intent to annoy, threaten, intimidate, harass or offend, when the contact includes obscene language, threats of harm, or repeated messages that disturb the person's peace or privacy. A first conviction is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, and a later conviction is a felony.

Source16Idaho Code § 18-6710

Related guide: Online harassment laws explained

Under Idaho's video voyeurism law, it is a felony to share, publish or sell (or threaten to) an intimate image of an identifiable person with intent to harass, humiliate or degrade them, when the sharer knew or should have known the image was meant to stay private and that the person did not consent. A separate law makes it a crime to disclose sexually explicit AI-generated or altered images of a real person without consent; it is generally a misdemeanor, but a felony if the person shown is under 18 or the offender has a prior conviction within five years.

Sources17Idaho Code § 18-6605(3) (video voyeurism)18Idaho Code § 18-6606 (disclosing explicit synthetic media)