Provides that it shall be unlawful to sell or lease any consumer's electronic mail address or other personal identifying information without giving consumer notice and opportunity to opt out; provides for enforcement by the attorney general; injunction and civil penalties.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
272
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 7, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER, DINOWITZ, MARKEY, SWEENEY -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. ALFANO, AUBRY, BARRA, CHRISTENSEN, CLARK,
COLTON, COOK, DESTITO, ENGLEBRIGHT, ESPAILLAT, GALEF, GLICK, GREENE,
HIKIND, HOOPER, JACOBS, JOHN, MAGEE, MAYERSOHN, McENENY, PERRY, SCAR-
BOROUGH, SCHIMMINGER, WEINSTEIN -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring that
a consumer be given the opportunity to opt out of the use of any elec-
tronic identifying information and notice of collection thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 399-i to read as follows:
3 § 399-i. Electronic mail address and other personal identifying infor-
4 mation; notice and opt out. 1. It shall be unlawful to sell or lease
5 any consumer's electronic mail address and any other personal identify-
6 ing information which is obtained online without providing the consumer
7 with a clear and conspicuous notice of the collection of the consumer's
8 electronic mail address and any other personal identifying information
9 and the ability to opt out of the sale or lease of the consumer's elec-
10 tronic mail address or any other personal identifying information. For
11 the purposes of this subdivision, "personal identifying information"
12 shall include, but not be limited to, a person's social security number,
13 date of birth, current and prior addresses, and mother's maiden name.
14 2. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application
15 may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the
16 state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a special
17 proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of
18 not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such
19 violations; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01957-01-9
A. 272 2
1 justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this section, an
2 injunction may be issued by such court or justice, enjoining and
3 restraining any further violation, without requiring proof that any
4 person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. In any such
5 proceeding, the court may make allowances to the attorney general as
6 provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three
7 hundred three of the civil practice law and rules and direct restitu-
8 tion. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this
9 section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more
10 than one thousand dollars for such violation. In connection with any
11 such application, the attorney general is authorized to take proof and
12 make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in
13 accordance with the civil practice law and rules.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
15 have become a law.