NY State Senate Bill 2019-S6848

Senate Bill S6848

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring registration of data brokers and directing the attorney general to maintain a website of such registrations

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Consumer Protection Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to consumer protection
Nov 13, 2019	referred to rules

2019-S6848 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 44 §§1400 - 1403, Gen Bus L

2019-S6848 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to requiring registration of data brokers and directing the attorney general to maintain a website of such registrations.

2019-S6848 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6848

SPONSOR: THOMAS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring
registration of data brokers and directing the attorney general to main-
tain a website of such registrations

 
PURPOSE GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of the bill is to create a registry of data brokers so that
New York consumers may better know what businesses to contact in order
to opt-out of the sale of their personal information.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill defines consumer, data broker, direct relation-
ship, and personal information.

Section 2 of the bill requires data brokers to register with the attor-

ney general and disclose information on how consumers may opt out of the
data broker's collection of information, databases, or sale of data.
Data brokers must also disclose any data collection, databases, or sales
from which the consumer may not opt-out. Data brokers must pay a regis-
tration fee determined by the attorney general.

Section 3 of the bill requires the attorney general to establish, manage
and maintain a statewide registry website that makes public all the
information provided by data brokers at registration. Printed hard
copies of the registry must be made available upon request for a fee
determined by the attorney general.

Section 4 of the bill describes penalties for failure to register with
the attorney general. Data brokers who fail to register are subject to
an injunction and civil penalties of $100 a day for each day the data
broker fails to register and payment of the expense incurred by the AG's
office to investigate/enforce the violation.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Companies regularly and systematically collect, analyze, share, and sell
the personal information of consumers. While this data collection
provides consumers various benefits, public fears about the widespread,
unregulated amassing of personal information are growing. One partic-
ularly troubling area of this systematic data collection is the emer-
gence of data brokers that collect this data without having any direct
relationship with the consumers whose information they amass.

In order to bring this industry into the light and more fully inform
consumers about who is collecting their personal information and how,
this bill establishes a data broker registry.

Vermont and California have already passed legislation requiring data
brokers to register.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become law.

2019-S6848 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6848
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             November 13, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the general  business  law,  in  relation  to  requiring
   registration  of  data  brokers  and directing the attorney general to
   maintain a website of such registrations

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new article
 44 to read as follows:
                                ARTICLE 44
                           DATA BROKER REGISTRY
 SECTION 1400. DEFINITIONS.
         1401. ANNUAL REGISTRATION.
         1402. WEBSITE.
         1403. PENALTIES.
   §  1400.  DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, THE FOLLOWING
 TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   1. "CONSUMER" SHALL MEAN A NATURAL PERSON WHO IS A NEW YORK  RESIDENT.
 "CONSUMER"  SHALL  NOT  INCLUDE  AN EMPLOYEE OR CONTRACTOR OF A BUSINESS
 ACTING IN THEIR ROLE AS AN EMPLOYEE OR CONTRACTOR.
   2. "DATA BROKER" SHALL MEAN A BUSINESS  THAT  KNOWINGLY  COLLECTS  AND
 SELLS  TO THIRD PARTIES THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF A CONSUMER WITH WHOM
 THE BUSINESS DOES NOT HAVE A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP.  "DATA  BROKER"  SHALL
 NOT  INCLUDE  A  CONSUMER  REPORTING  AGENCY COVERED BY THE FEDERAL FAIR
 CREDIT REPORTING ACT OR A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION COVERED  BY  THE  GRAMM-
 LEACH-BLILEY  ACT  OR AN ENTITY COVERED BY THE INSURANCE INFORMATION AND
 PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT.
   3. "DIRECT RELATIONSHIP" SHALL MEAN THAT THE CONSUMER  IS  A  PAST  OR
 PRESENT:  (A)  CUSTOMER,  CLIENT,  SUBSCRIBER  OR USER OF THE BUSINESS'S
 GOODS OR SERVICES; (B) EMPLOYEE, CONTRACTOR OR AGENT  OF  THE  BUSINESS;
 (C) INVESTOR IN THE BUSINESS; OR (D) DONOR TO THE BUSINESS.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14182-01-9

 S. 6848                             2
 
   4.  "PERSONAL  INFORMATION"  SHALL  MEAN  ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING A
 NATURAL PERSON WHICH, BECAUSE OF NAME, NUMBER, PERSONAL MARK,  OR  OTHER
 IDENTIFIER, CAN BE USED TO IDENTIFY SUCH NATURAL PERSON.
   §  1401.  ANNUAL  REGISTRATION. ANNUALLY, ON OR BEFORE JANUARY THIRTY-
 FIRST, A DATA BROKER, AS DEFINED UNDER THIS ARTICLE, SHALL:
   1. REGISTER WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN A MANNER PROVIDED FOR BY  THE
 ATTORNEY GENERAL;
   2.  PAY  A  REGISTRATION  FEE  IN AN AMOUNT DETERMINED BY THE ATTORNEY
 GENERAL NOT TO EXCEED THE REASONABLE COST OF ESTABLISHING AND  MAINTAIN-
 ING  THE  INFORMATIONAL  WEBSITE  DESCRIBED  IN SECTION FOURTEEN HUNDRED
 THREE OF THIS ARTICLE; AND
   3. PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
   (A) THE NAME OF THE DATA BROKER AND ITS PRIMARY  PHYSICAL,  EMAIL  AND
 INTERNET WEBSITE ADDRESS;
   (B) WHETHER THE DATA BROKER PERMITS A CONSUMER TO: OPT OUT OF THE DATA
 BROKER'S  COLLECTION  OF  BROKERED  PERSONAL INFORMATION; OPT OUT OF ITS
 DATABASES; OR OPT OUT OF CERTAIN SALES OF DATA;
   (C) THE METHOD FOR REQUESTING AN OPT-OUT UNDER PARAGRAPH (B)  OF  THIS
 SUBDIVISION;
   (D)  A  STATEMENT  SPECIFYING THE DATA COLLECTION, DATABASES, OR SALES
 ACTIVITIES FROM WHICH A CONSUMER MAY NOT OPT OUT; AND
   (E) ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR EXPLANATION THE DATA BROKER  CHOOSES
 TO PROVIDE CONCERNING ITS DATA COLLECTION PRACTICES.
   §  1402.  WEBSITE.  THE  ATTORNEY  GENERAL SHALL ESTABLISH, MANAGE AND
 MAINTAIN A STATEWIDE REGISTRY ON ITS INTERNET WEBSITE, WHICH SHALL  LIST
 ALL  REGISTERED DATA BROKERS DOING BUSINESS IN THE STATE AND MAKE ACCES-
 SIBLE TO THE PUBLIC ALL THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY DATA BROKERS  PURSU-
 ANT  TO THIS ARTICLE. PRINTED HARD COPIES OF SUCH REGISTRY SHALL BE MADE
 AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST AND PAYMENT OF A FEE  TO  BE  DETERMINED  BY  THE
 ATTORNEY GENERAL.
   §  1403. PENALTIES. A DATA BROKER THAT FAILS TO REGISTER IS SUBJECT TO
 INJUNCTION AND IS LIABLE FOR CIVIL PENALTIES OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS  FOR
 EACH DAY THAT SUCH DATA BROKER FAILS TO REGISTER, AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE
 FEES DUE UNDER THIS SECTION DURING THE PERIOD SUCH DATA BROKER FAILED TO
 REGISTER  AND  EXPENSES INCURRED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN THE INVESTI-
 GATION AND PROSECUTION OF THE ACTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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