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AB-242 Privacy: Internet.(2013-2014)

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Amended  IN  Assembly  January 06, 2014

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2013–2014 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 242

Introduced by Assembly Member Chau

February 06, 2013

An act to amend Section Sections 22575, 22576, 22577, and 22578 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to privacy.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 242, as amended, Chau. Privacy: Internet.
Existing law requires an operator of a commercial Web site or online service that collects personally identifiable information through the Internet, about individual consumers residing in California who use or visit its commercial Web site or online service, to make its privacy policy available to consumers, as specified.

This bill would require the privacy policy to be no more than 100 words, be written in clear and concise language, be written at no greater than an 8th grade reading level, and to include a statement indicating whether the personally identifiable information may be sold or shared with others, and if so, how and with whom the information may be shared.

This bill would eliminate references to “privacy policy,” and instead refer to a privacy policy as a “policy.” The bill would require these policies to include hyperlinks to the Web pages where a consumer may file a complaint, as specified, if an operator collects personal information about an individual consumer.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.Section 22575 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
22575.

(a)An operator of a commercial Web site or online service that collects personally identifiable information through the Internet about individual consumers residing in California who use or visit its commercial Web site or online service shall conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Web site, or in the case of an operator of an online service, make that policy available in accordance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 22577. An operator shall be in violation of this subdivision only if the operator fails to post its policy within 30 days after being notified of noncompliance.

(b)The privacy policy required by subdivision (a) shall do all of the following:

(1)Identify the categories of personally identifiable information that the operator collects through the Web site or online service about individual consumers who use or visit its commercial Web site or online service and the categories of third-party persons or entities with whom the operator may share that personally identifiable information.

(2)If the operator maintains a process for an individual consumer who uses or visits its commercial Web site or online service to review and request changes to any of his or her personally identifiable information that is collected through the Web site or online service, provide a description of that process.

(3)Describe the process by which the operator notifies consumers who use or visit its commercial Web site or online service of material changes to the operator’s privacy policy for that Web site or online service.

(4)Identify its effective date.

(c)The privacy policy required by this section shall be no more than 100 words and shall be written in clear and concise language at no greater than an eighth grade reading level. The privacy policy shall include a statement indicating whether the personally identifiable information may be sold or shared with others, and if so, how and with whom the information may be shared.

SECTION 1.

 Section 22575 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

22575.
 (a) An operator of a commercial Web site or online service that collects personally identifiable information through the Internet about individual consumers residing in California who use or visit its commercial Web site or online service shall conspicuously post its privacy a policy on its Web site, or in the case of an operator of an online service, make that policy available in accordance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 22577. An operator shall be in violation of this subdivision only if the operator fails to post its policy within 30 days after being notified of noncompliance.
(b) The privacy policy required by subdivision (a) shall do all of the following:
(1) Identify the categories of personally identifiable information that the operator collects through the Web site or online service about individual consumers who use or visit its commercial Web site or online service and the categories of third-party persons or entities with whom the operator may share that personally identifiable information.
(2) If the operator maintains a process for an individual consumer who uses or visits its commercial Web site or online service to review and request changes to any of his or her personally identifiable information that is collected through the Web site or online service, provide a description of that process.
(3) Describe the process by which the operator notifies consumers who use or visit its commercial Web site or online service of material changes to the operator’s privacy policy for that Web site or online service.
(4) Identify its effective date.
(5) Disclose how the operator responds to Web browser “do not track” signals or other mechanisms that provide consumers the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personally identifiable information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party Web sites or online services, if the operator engages in that collection.
(6) Disclose whether other parties may collect personally identifiable information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across different Web sites when a consumer uses the operator’s Web site or service.
(7) An operator may satisfy the requirement of paragraph (5) by providing a clear and conspicuous hyperlink in the operator’s privacy policy to an online location containing a description, including the effects, of any program or protocol the operator follows that offers the consumer that choice.
(8) If an operator collects personal information about an individual consumer, include hyperlinks to the Web pages where the consumer may file a complaint with the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission.

SEC. 2.

 Section 22576 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

22576.
 An operator of a commercial Web site or online service that collects personally identifiable information through the Web site or online service from individual consumers who use or visit the commercial Web site or online service and who reside in California shall be in violation of this section if the operator fails to comply with the provisions of Section 22575 or with the provisions of its posted privacy policy in either of the following ways:
(a) Knowingly and willfully.
(b) Negligently and materially.

SEC. 3.

 Section 22577 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

22577.
 For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) The term “personally identifiable information” means individually identifiable information about an individual consumer collected online by the operator from that individual and maintained by the operator in an accessible form, including any of the following:
(1) A first and last name.
(2) A home or other physical address, including street name and name of a city or town.
(3) An e-mail address.
(4) A telephone number.
(5) A social security number.
(6) Any other identifier that permits the physical or online contacting of a specific individual.
(7) Information concerning a user that the Web site or online service collects online from the user and maintains in personally identifiable form in combination with an identifier described in this subdivision.
(b) The term “conspicuously post” with respect to a privacy policy shall include posting the privacy policy through any of the following:
(1) A Web page on which the actual privacy policy is posted if the Web page is the homepage or first significant page after entering the Web site.
(2) An icon that hyperlinks to a Web page on which the actual privacy policy is posted, if the icon is located on the homepage or the first significant page after entering the Web site, and if the icon contains the word “privacy.” words “using your information.” The icon shall also use a color that contrasts with the background color of the Web page or is otherwise distinguishable.
(3) A text link that hyperlinks to a Web page on which the actual privacy policy is posted, if the text link is located on the homepage or first significant page after entering the Web site, and if the text link does one of the following:
(A) Includes the word “privacy.” words “using your information.”
(B) Is written in capital letters equal to or greater in size than the surrounding text.
(C) Is written in larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks that call attention to the language.
(4) Any other functional hyperlink that is so displayed that a reasonable person would notice it.
(5) In the case of an online service, any other reasonably accessible means of making the privacy policy available for consumers of the online service.
(c) The term “operator” means any person or entity that owns a Web site located on the Internet or an online service that collects and maintains personally identifiable information from a consumer residing in California who uses or visits the Web site or online service if the Web site or online service is operated for commercial purposes. It does not include any third party that operates, hosts, or manages, but does not own, a Web site or online service on the owner’s behalf or by processing information on behalf of the owner.
(d) The term “consumer” means any individual who seeks or acquires, by purchase or lease, any goods, services, money, or credit for personal, family, or household purposes.

SEC. 4.

 Section 22578 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:

22578.
 It is the intent of the Legislature that this chapter is a matter of statewide concern. This chapter supersedes and preempts all rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, and other laws adopted by a city, county, city and county, municipality, or local agency regarding the posting of a privacy policy on an Internet Web site.