BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 568 (Steinberg)
          As Amended  August 15, 2013
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :37-0  
           
           ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS   5-1                   JUDICIARY    
          10-0                
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Ian Calderon, Bloom,      |Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner,       |
          |     |Brown, Gomez, Levine      |     |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson,   |
          |     |                          |     |Garcia, Gorell,           |
          |     |                          |     |Maienschein, Muratsuchi,  |
          |     |                          |     |Stone                     |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Wilk                      |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Prohibits, as of January 1, 2015, the operator of an  
          Internet Web site or online service, online application, or  
          mobile application from marketing certain kinds of products or  
          services to a minor, and permits a minor to remove posted  
          personal information, as specified.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Prohibits the operator of an Internet Web site, online  
            service, online application, or mobile application that is  
            directed to minors from marketing or advertising specified  
            products or services on its Internet Web site, online service,  
            online application, or mobile application.  If marketing or  
            advertising is provided by an advertising service, the  
            operator shall notify the advertising service that the site,  
            service, or application is directed to minors, and the  
            advertising service shall be prohibited from marketing or  
            advertising the specified products or services. 

          2)Prohibits the operator of an Internet Web site, online  
            service, or application from marketing or advertising  
            specified products or services to a minor if the operator has  
            actual knowledge that a minor is using the operator's Web  
            site, service, or application and the marketing or advertising  
            is specifically directed to that minor based on information  
            specific to that minor.  Provides that an operator shall be  








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            deemed in compliance with this provision if the operator takes  
            reasonable actions in good faith to avoid marketing or  
            advertising the specified products or services.

          3)Prohibits an operator of an Internet Web site, online service,  
            or application directed to minors or who has actual knowledge  
            that a minor is using the operator's site, service, or  
            application from using, disclosing, compiling, or allowing a  
            third party to use, disclose, or compile, the personal  
            information of a minor with actual knowledge that such use,  
            disclosure or compilation is for the purpose of marketing or  
            advertising specified products or services.

          4)Applies the above restrictions to the following products and  
            services, which existing law prohibits a minor from  
            purchasing:  alcoholic beverages; firearms, handguns, or  
            ammunition; handgun safety certificates; aerosol paints or  
            etching creams that are capable of defacing property;  tobacco  
            products or controlled substances; BB devices; ultraviolet  
            tanning devices; dietary supplements containing ephedrine;  
            lottery tickets; salvia divinorum or Salvinorin A, or products  
            containing the same; body branding; permanent tattoo; drug  
            paraphernalia; electronic cigarettes; obscene matter; a less  
            lethal weapon, as defined.

          5)Specifies that the above restrictions shall not apply to  
            incidental placement of products or services embedded in  
            content if the content is not created primarily for the  
            purpose of marketing and advertising of the restricted  
            services and products. 

          6)Provides that nothing in this bill shall be construed to  
            require an operator of an Internet Web site, online service,  
            or application to collect or retain information about users. 

          7)Uses the following definitions for purposes of the provisions  
            of this bill:

             a)   "Minor" means a natural person less than 18 years of age  
               who resides in the state.

             b)   "Internet Web site, online service, online application,  
               or mobile application directed to minors" means a site,  
               service, or application that is created for the purpose of  








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               reaching an audience that is predominantly composed of  
               minors, and is not intended for a more general audience  
               comprised of adults.  However, a site, service, or  
               application shall not be deemed to be directed to minors  
               solely because it refers or links to a site, service, or  
               application directed to minors. 

             c)   "Marketing or advertising" means, in exchange for  
               monetary compensation, to make a communication to one or  
               more individuals, or to arrange for the dissemination to  
               the public of a communication, about a product or service  
               the primary purpose of which is to encourage recipients of  
               the communication to purchase or use the product or  
               service. 

             d)   "Operator" means any person or entity that owns an  
               Internet Web site, online service, online application, or  
               mobile application.  It does not include any third party  
               that operates, hosts, or manages, but does not own, an  
               Internet Web site, online service, online application, or  
               mobile application on the owner's behalf or processes  
               information on the owner's behalf. 

          8)Requires an operator of an Internet Web site, online service  
            or application directed to minors, or an operator that has  
            actual knowledge that a minor is using the site, service, or  
            application, to permit a minor who is a registered user to  
            remove content or information that the minor has posted, or to  
            request that operator remove or anonymize the information.   
            Specifies that the minor be notified of his or her right to  
            request removal and that the notice contain clear instructions  
            on how to do so.  Provides that an operator would not be  
            required to erase or eliminate information that was stored on  
            or posted by a party other than the minor or if the operator  
            is required by state or federal law to maintain the  
            information.

          9)Defines "posted" for purposes of the above provision to mean  
            content or information that can be accessed by a user in  
            addition to the minor who posted the content or information,  
            whether or not the user is a registered user of the site,  
            service, or application. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None








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           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "A large part of a child's  
          social and emotional development is occurring while that child  
          navigates through the digital world while online and through  
          their cell phone.  Young children and teens are still developing  
          their critical thinking skills and judgment.  We see examples in  
          our homes and in the media of children having a tendency to  
          reveal before they reflect.  Existing state law does nothing to  
          require that online operators permit minors to remove content or  
          information they posted on the operator's site.  Children should  
          be allowed to erase that which they post because mistakes can  
          follow a young person for a long time and impact their chances  
          of getting into college and landing a job.  This bill requires  
          operators to permit children to delete what they post on the  
          operator's website."

          Statistics cited by the author confirm what has become common  
          knowledge:  teen use of social networking and other online  
          services, including the now pervasive "mobile apps," has  
          expanded greatly in recent years.  Moreover, the author  
          believes that a minor's lack of maturity might make him or her  
          more susceptible to aggressive marketing and more likely to  
          post personal information online without always thinking about  
          the consequences of doing so.  Marketers are apparently aware  
          that children and teens are avid consumers and susceptible to  
          persuasion.  For example, a Wall Street Journal investigation  
          found that 4,123 "cookies" and other tracking devices were  
          placed on a test computer that was used to visit the top 50  
          Web sites for children and teens, which was about 30% more  
          than were placed on a test computer that visited sites that  
          targeted a general audience.  (See "On the Web, Children Face  
          Intensive Tracking," Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2010.)

           This Bill Has Two Main Provisions  :  First, this bill will give  
          minors the opportunity, subject to certain exceptions, to  
          remove information that they have posted or stored on an  
          Internet Web site, online service, or application.  It should  
          be noted, however, that "removal" will not necessarily mean to  
          literally "remove" by deletion or erasure.  Rather, an  
          operator can comply with a "removal" request by hiding the  
          posting so that no other users can see or access it, or by  
          otherwise making the posting anonymous.  Second, this bill  
          prohibits the operator of the Internet Web site, online  
          service, or application from targeting minors with  








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          advertisements for goods and services that they cannot legally  
          purchase.  

           Recent Amendments Appear to Address Opposition Concerns  :  The  
          recent amendments remove most known opposition.  The Center  
          for Democracy & Technology (CDT) continues to have concerns,  
          though CDT's earlier stated opposition seems to have been  
          addressed by recent amendments.  For example, recent  
          amendments to the definition of a service "directed to minors"  
          clarify that the bill's requirements will only apply to an  
          Internet Web site that is directed "predominately" to minors,  
          and the bill now expressly exempts Internet Web sites and  
          services designed "for a more general audience comprised of  
          adults."  Similarly, CDT's concern that operations will be  
          forced to seek more information to verify a user's age is  
          potentially addressed by an amendment that expressly states  
          that nothing in the bill shall be construed to require an  
          operator to collect age information about users.  Finally, one  
          of CDT's principle objections appears to be that this bill  
          should follow federal law in defining a "minor" as a person  
          under the age of 13.  However, the author is primarily  
          concerned with the teens that most frequently use the Internet  
          and social media services, the studies suggest that they are  
          between the ages of 13 and 17.

          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          of this bill.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Dana Mitchell / A.,E.,S.,T. & I.M. /  
          (916) 319-3450 


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