BILL NUMBER: AB 2537	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Mountjoy

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2004

   An act to add Title 1.81.4 (commencing with Section 1798.98) to
Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, relating to privacy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2537, as introduced, Mountjoy.  Children's privacy protection.
   Existing law requires a business to take steps to protect personal
information, as defined, of consumers.  Existing law also regulates
the disclosure of personal information regarding a customer to
3rd-parties.
   This bill would enact the Children's Privacy Protection and
Parental Empowerment Act.  The bill would prohibit the sale or
purchase of personal information, as defined by this bill, concerning
a person who is known to be a child, as specified, without the
consent of the child's parent or legal guardian.  The bill would
authorize a parent or legal guardian of a child whose information is
sold or purchased in violation of these provisions to recover
punitive damages, actual damages, court costs, and attorney's fees,
as specified.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  no.
State-mandated local program:  no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Title 1.81.4 (commencing with Section 1978.98) is added
to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, to read:

      TITLE 1.81.4.  CHILDREN'S PRIVACY PROTECTION AND PARENTAL
EMPOWERMENT ACT

   1978.98.  This title shall be known and may be cited as the
Children's Privacy Protection and Parental Empowerment Act.
   1798.99.  As used in this title:
   (a) "Child" means a person who is 15 years of age or younger.
"Child" does not include a person who has been emancipated pursuant
to Part 6 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 11 of the Family
Code.
   (b) "Parent" means a parent, step-parent, or legal guardian.
   (c) (1) "Personal information" means any of the following:
   (A) Name.
   (B) Address.
   (C) Telephone number.
   (D) Driver's license number or State of California identification
card as issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles or by a similar
agency of another state.
   (E) Social security number.
   (F) Any other information that can be used to locate or contact a
specific individual.
   (2) "Personal information" does not include any of the following:

   (A) Public records, as defined in Section 6252 of the Government
Code.
   (B) Court records.
   (C) Information found in publicly available sources, including
newspapers, magazines, and telephone directories.
   (D) Any other information that is not known to concern a child.
   1798.100.  The sale or purchase of personal information concerning
an individual known to be a child without parental consent is
prohibited.
   1798.101.  (a) (1) For the purpose of this title, the consent of a
parent or legal guardian of a child to the sale or purchase of
information concerning the child is presumed, unless the parent or
legal guardian withdraws his or her consent pursuant to this section.

   (2) A person who brokers or facilitates the sale of personal
information concerning children shall, upon written request from a
parent or legal guardian that specifically identifies the child,
provide to the parent or legal guardian within 20 days of the written
request, procedures that the parent or legal guardian must follow in
order to withdraw his or her consent to the use of personal
information relating to that child.  The person who brokers or
facilitates the sale of personal information shall discontinue
disclosing a child's personal information within 20 days after the
parent or legal guardian has completed the procedures to withdraw his
or her consent to the use of personal information relating to that
child.
   (b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
   (1) Any federal, state, or local government agency, including any
law enforcement agency.
   (2) The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
   (3) Any educational institution, consortium, organization, or
professional association.
   (4) Any nonprofit entity that is exempt from the payment of
federal taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
   1798.102.  The parent or legal guardian of a child whose personal
information is sold or purchased in violation of this title may bring
an action in a court of appropriate jurisdiction against the entity
that sold or purchased that information to recover punitive damages
of up to two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each violation, in
addition to actual damages, court costs, and attorney's fees.
However, if the disclosure or sharing results in the release of
nonpublic personal information regarding more than one child, the
total punitive damages awarded pursuant to this section may not
exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).