BILL NUMBER: AB 2667 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bloom
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to add Sections 1802.22, 1802.23, 1802.24, 1802.25,
1803.12, and 1803.13 to the Civil Code, relating to electronic
devices.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2667, as introduced, Bloom. Retail installment contracts:
electronic devices: monitoring technology.
Existing law, the Unruh Act, provides for the regulation of retail
installment contracts, as defined. Existing law requires retail
installment contracts to contain specified notices, including, among
other things, information on costs and terms of repayment. Existing
law makes it a misdemeanor to willfully violate the provisions
regulating retail installment contracts.
This bill would add to these provisions regulating retail
contracts provisions requiring a retail seller to provide clear and
prominent notice to a buyer and obtain express consent from the buyer
at the time of sale of an electronic device if that device has
monitoring technology or geophysical location tracking technology
installed and would prohibit a seller from installing the technology
without providing clear and prominent notice and obtaining express
consent from the buyer. The bill would prohibit a seller from using a
monitoring technology or geophysical location tracking technology on
an electronic device for any purpose other than to prevent fraud.
Because a willful violation of these provisions would be a crime,
this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1802.22 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1802.22. "Electronic device" means a desktop or laptop computer,
handheld device, tablet, smart phone, or other electronic product or
device that has a platform on which to download, install, or run any
software program, code, script, or other content.
SEC. 2. Section 1802.23 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1802.23. "Clear and prominent notice" means notice presented in
an understandable language and syntax, in the predominantly used
language for that communication, and that:
(a) In textual communications, the required disclosures are of a
type, size, and location sufficiently noticeable for an ordinary
consumer to read and comprehend in print that contrasts highly with
the background on which they appear.
(b) In communications disseminated orally or through audible
means, the required disclosures are delivered in a volume and cadence
sufficient for an ordinary consumer to hear and comprehend.
(c) In communications disseminated through video means, the
required disclosures are in writing in a form consistent with
subdivision (a) of this definition and appear on the screen for a
duration sufficient for an ordinary consumer to read and comprehend
them, and in the same language as the predominantly used language for
that communication.
(d) In communications made through interactive media, including
the Internet, online services, and software, the required disclosures
are unavoidable and presented in a form consistent with subdivision
(a), in addition to any audio or video presentation.
SEC. 3. Section 1802.24 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1802.24. "Geophysical location tracking technology" means
hardware, software, or an application that collects and reports data
or information that identifies the precise geophysical location of an
item, including, technologies that report the GPS coordinates of a
computer or other item, the WiFi signals available to or actually
used by a computer to access the Internet, the telecommunication
towers or connections available to or actually used by a computer,
the processing of any reported data or information through
geolocation lookup services, or any information derived from any
combination of the foregoing.
SEC. 4. Section 1802.25 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1802.25. "Monitoring technology" means any hardware, software, or
application utilized in conjunction with a computer that can cause
the computer to capture, monitor, record, or report information about
user activities by recording keystrokes, clicks, or other
user-generated actions, capturing screenshots of the information
displayed on a computer monitor or screen, or activating the camera
or microphone function of a computer to take photographs or record
audio or visual content through the computer's Internet Webcam or
microphone.
SEC. 5. Section 1803.12 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1803.12. It shall be unlawful for a seller to fail to provide
clear and prominent notice to a buyer and obtain express consent from
the buyer at the time of sale of an electronic device if that device
has monitoring technology or geophysical location tracking
technology installed or to install monitoring technology or
geophysical location tracking technology on an electronic device
without first providing clear and prominent notice to the buyer and
obtaining express consent.
SEC. 6. Section 1803.13 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1803.13. It shall be unlawful for a seller to use monitoring
technology or geophysical location tracking technology on an
electronic device for any purpose other than the prevention of fraud.
SEC. 7. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.