NY State Senate Bill 2023-S570

Senate Bill S570

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Prohibits a consumer reporting agency or lender from using an individual's internet viewing history to determine such individual's credit worthiness

download bill text pdf

Current 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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to consumer protection
Jan 05, 2023	referred to consumer protection

co-Sponsors

2023-S570 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Consumer Protection
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §380-j, Gen Bus L; amd §352, Bank L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S6820
2017-2018: S8154
2019-2020: S2322
2021-2022: S2808

2023-S570 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits a consumer reporting agency or lender from using an individual's internet use or internet viewing history to determine such individual's credit worthiness.

2023-S570 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S570

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law and the banking law, in
relation to prohibiting a consumer reporting agency or lender from using
an individual's internet viewing history to determine such individual's
credit worthiness

 
PURPOSE:

To prohibit a consumer reporting agency or lender from using an individ-
ual's internet viewing history to determine such individual's credit
worthiness

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Section 380-j of the general business law is amended by
adding a new subdivision (i) to read as follows:

(i) No consumer reporting agency shall collect, evaluate, report, or

maintain in the file on a consumer the consumer's use of internet or web
browsing history as a factor to determine the consumer's credit score,
standing or credit capacity.

Section 2. Section 352 of the banking law is amended by adding a new
seventh undesignated paragraph to prohibit the collection, evaluation,
reporting, or maintainance in the file by a licensee on a borrower, the
borrower's use of internet or internet viewing history as a factor to
determine the borrower's credit worthiness, credit standing or credit
capacity.

Section 3 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

An individual consumers' Internet viewing history should not be a factor
in their consumer credit score. This is an obvious invasion of privacy
and a fuzzy math approach which will hurt consumers. It is obvious that
individuals in low income communities, immigrants with limited English
proficiency, teens, and young adults will have an online viewing history
that is substantially different than those who are native born, with
higher incomes or older.

So why should consumers be further stigmatized and penalized via worsen-
ing credit scores based on whether or not they read the New York Times
versus the NY Post or because they only play online games and never
visit the website of the Economist?

 
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:

None.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S2808 (Kavanagh) - CONSUMER PROTECTION

2020: S2322 (Kavanagh) - CONSUMER PROTECTION
2018: S8154 (Kavanagh) /A3565 (Crespo) - CONSUMER PROTECTION/Passed
Assembly

2016: S6820A (Ranzenhofer) /A9145A (Crespo) - CONSUMER
PROTECTION/consumer affairs and protection

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S570 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    570
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 5, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. KAVANAGH, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered print-
   ed,  and  when  printed  to  be committed to the Committee on Consumer
   Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the  general  business  law  and  the  banking  law,  in
   relation  to  prohibiting  a  consumer reporting agency or lender from
   using an individual's internet viewing history to determine such indi-
   vidual's credit worthiness
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  380-j  of the general business law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision (i) to read as follows:
   (I) NO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY SHALL COLLECT, EVALUATE,  REPORT,  OR
 MAINTAIN  IN  THE  FILE  ON A CONSUMER THE CONSUMER'S USE OF INTERNET OR
 INTERNET VIEWING HISTORY AS A FACTOR TO DETERMINE THE CONSUMER'S  CREDIT
 WORTHINESS, CREDIT STANDING OR CREDIT CAPACITY.
   §  2.  Section  352    of  the  banking law is amended by adding a new
 seventh undesignated paragraph to read as follows:
   NO LICENSEE SHALL COLLECT, EVALUATE, REPORT OR MAINTAIN IN THE FILE ON
 A BORROWER THE BORROWER'S USE OF INTERNET OR INTERNET VIEWING HISTORY AS
 A FACTOR TO DETERMINE THE BORROWER'S CREDIT WORTHINESS, CREDIT  STANDING
 OR  CREDIT  CAPACITY. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE ENFORCED
 CONCURRENTLY BY THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE  DIVISION  OF
 CONSUMER  PROTECTION AND EACH SHALL UTILIZE THEIR CONSUMER COMPLAINT AND
 ASSISTANCE HOTLINES TO DOCUMENT COMPLAINTS BY BORROWERS WHO BELIEVE THAT
 THEIR INTERNET VIEWING HISTORY IS BEING USED TO DENY  THEM  CREDIT.  THE
 SUPERINTENDENT  SHALL ENSURE THAT THE CREDIT SCORING FORMULAS FILED WITH
 THE DEPARTMENT DO NOT CONTAIN VARIABLES WHICH ACCOUNT FOR INTERNET VIEW-
 ING HISTORY AS PART OF THAT FORMULA BY ASKING THE LICENSEE TO CERTIFY TO
 THAT FACT.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02001-01-3

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S570

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Brian Kavanagh