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S04561 Summary:

BILL NOS04561
 
SAME ASSAME AS A05323
 
SPONSORAVELLA
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §50-f, Civ Rts L; amd §215, CPLR
 
Requires search engines, indexers, publishers and any other persons or entities which make available, on or through the internet or other widely used computer-based network, program or service, information about an individual to remove such information, upon the request of the individual, within thirty days of such request.
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S04561 Actions:

BILL NOS04561
 
02/17/2017REFERRED TO CODES
03/21/2017RECOMMIT, ENACTING CLAUSE STRICKEN
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S04561 Committee Votes:

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S04561 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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S04561 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4561
 
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 17, 2017
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law and  the  civil  practice  law  and
          rules, in relation to creating the right to be forgotten act
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
     2  50-f to read as follows:
     3    §  50-f.  Right to be forgotten act. 1. Upon the request from an indi-
     4  vidual, all search engines, indexers, publishers and any  other  persons
     5  or  entities  that  make  available, on or through the internet or other
     6  widely used computer-based  network,  program  or  service,  information
     7  about  the  requester,  shall  remove information, articles, identifying
     8  information and other  content  about  such  individual,  and  links  or
     9  indexes  to any of the same, that is "inaccurate", "irrelevant", "inade-
    10  quate" or "excessive" within thirty days of such  request,  and  without
    11  replacing   such  removed  information,  article  or  content  with  any
    12  disclaimer, takedown notice, hyperlink,  or  other  replacement  notice,
    13  information  or  content, or cooperating with any other person or entity
    14  who does any of the foregoing. For purposes of  this  section,  "inaccu-
    15  rate",  "irrelevant",  "inadequate",  or "excessive" shall mean content,
    16  which after a significant lapse in time from its first  publication,  is
    17  no  longer  material  to  current public debate or discourse, especially
    18  when considered in light of the financial,  reputational  and/or  demon-
    19  strable  other  harm  that  the information, article or other content is
    20  causing to the  requester's  professional,  financial,  reputational  or
    21  other interest, with the exception of content related to convicted felo-
    22  nies, legal matters relating to violence, or a matter that is of signif-
    23  icant current public interest, and as to which the requester's role with
    24  regard to the matter is central and substantial.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09707-01-7

        S. 4561                             2
 
     1    2. Search engines, indexers, publishers and any other persons or enti-
     2  ties  that  make  available, on the internet or other widely used compu-
     3  ter-based network, program  or  service,  content  about  an  individual
     4  which,  within  thirty  days after receiving a removal request, have not
     5  removed all requested information and content that is inaccurate, irrel-
     6  evant,  inadequate  or  excessive,  and  without  replacing such removed
     7  information or content with any disclaimer, takedown notice,  hyperlink,
     8  or other replacement notice, information or content, or cooperating with
     9  any  other  person  or  entity  who  does any of the foregoing, shall be
    10  subject to, as administered by the secretary of state, either an  action
    11  for  actual  monetary loss for each such violation, or statutory damages
    12  in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars after  such  removal  request
    13  for  each  day  of  such violation, whichever is greater. In addition to
    14  such penalty, any such party who does not timely remove any such  infor-
    15  mation,  article,  content, links or indexes also shall be liable to and
    16  shall pay to the  requester  any  and  all  costs  and  attorney's  fees
    17  incurred while enforcing his or her rights under this act.
    18    3.  The  secretary  of  state  shall oversee all right to be forgotten
    19  requests, filings, takedowns and if  applicable,  any  penalties,  judg-
    20  ments, costs and/or attorney's fees.
    21    §  2. Subdivision 3 of section 215 of the civil practice law and rules
    22  is amended and a new subdivision 9 is added to read as follows:
    23    3. an action to recover damages for assault, battery, false  imprison-
    24  ment, malicious prosecution, libel, except libel as defined under subdi-
    25  vision  nine  of  this  section,  slander,  false  words causing special
    26  damages, or a violation of the right of privacy under section  fifty-one
    27  of the civil rights law;
    28    9. an action for libel for publications on the internet or other wide-
    29  ly used computer-based network, program or service. The statute of limi-
    30  tations  shall  begin  to  accrue when the information, article or other
    31  content is completely removed from the internet  or  other  widely  used
    32  computer-based  network,  program or service, regardless of whether such
    33  content also was or is published elsewhere, and regardless of when  such
    34  content was first published on the internet or otherwise.
    35    §  3.  Each  and all of the sections and provisions of this act, shall
    36  apply to all articles and other content that either is  presently  being
    37  made  available  on  the  internet,  or other widely used computer-based
    38  network, program or service, regardless of when such articles and  other
    39  content  was  first  so or otherwise posted, published or otherwise made
    40  available, or is so made available at a future date, and  regardless  of
    41  whether the respondent search engine, indexer, publisher or other person
    42  or  entity  is  located  within  or without the state of New York or the
    43  United States of America, to the fullest extent permitted by the  United
    44  States Constitution.
    45    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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