AB 1116, as amended, Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. Connected televisions.
Existing law makes it a crime for a person who owns, controls, operates, or manages a satellite or cable television corporation to use an electronic device to record, transmit, or observe any events or listen to, record, or monitor any conversations that take place inside a subscriber’s residence, workplace, or place of business, without obtaining the express written consent of the subscriber. Existing law requires a device that includes an integrated and enabled wireless access point that is sold as new in the state for use in a small office, home office, or residential setting to be manufactured to possess certain features and advisories, including, among others, protection on the device that requires an affirmative action by the consumer prior to allowing use of the product and an advisory for the consumer regarding how to protect his or her wireless network connection from unauthorized access.
This bill would prohibit abegin delete connected television sold or leased in the state that is equipped with a voice recognition feature to use spoken words or other sounds for any purpose not essential to the function of the application for which the user enabled or utilized the voice recognition feature, and further prohibit a person from enabling or utilizing the voice recognition feature of a connected television without the consent of the user, as specified. This bill would require a connected television sold or leased in the state to be equipped with mechanisms to control the use of the voice recognition feature and indicate when it is collecting or transmitting spoken words or other sounds.end deletebegin insert person or entity from using the features in a connected television that allow the collection,
recording, storage, analysis, transmission, interpretation, or other use of the spoken word of a person within this state without informing the user or a person designated by the user to perform the initial setup or installation of the connected television, except as specified. This bill would further prohibit a manufacturer of a connected television or a third party that contracts with a manufacturer of a connected television, as specified, from using or selling for any advertising purpose any spoken word or other sound that was collected by a connected television for the purpose of improving the function, operation, or features of the connected television. This bill would prohibit a person or entity from compelling a manufacturer or entity offering features that allow the collection, recording, storage, analysis, transmission, interpretation, or other use of spoken words, to build specific features for the purpose of allowing an investigative or law enforcement officer to monitor communications through
that feature. This bill would limit the liability of a manufacturer to functionality provided at the time end insertbegin insertof the original sale of a connected television and specifically exclude liability for functionality provided by applications downloaded and installed by a user.end insert This bill would define terms for its purposes. This bill would prohibit a waiver of these prohibitions and authorize their enforcement by injunction or civil penalty in a court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or a district attorney. This bill specifies that its provisions shall not be deemed to create a private right of action or limit any existing private right of action. This bill would provide that these provisions are severable.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 35 (commencing with Section 22948.20)
2is added to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, to
3read:
4
(a) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a connected
8television sold or leased in the state that is equipped with a voice
9recognition feature shall not be used to collect, record, store,
10analyze, transmit, interpret, or otherwise use spoken words or other
11sounds for any purpose not essential to the function of the
12application for which the user enabled or utilized the voice
13recognition feature. Purposes not essential to the function of an
14application include, but are not limited to, advertising and the
15analysis of household conversations.
16(b) (1) A person shall not enable or utilize the voice recognition
17feature of a connected television sold or
leased in the state without
18the consent of the user, as set forth in paragraph (2).
19(2) Consent shall be received by means of a separate notice that
20gives the user an opportunity to understand and choose the use of
21the voice recognition feature before it is enabled. Consent shall
22only be required at the time the voice recognition feature is enabled,
23and not each time the user starts the voice recognition feature.
24(c) A connected television sold or leased in the state that is
25equipped with a voice recognition feature shall also be equipped
26with
all of the following:
27(1) A mechanism that requires a user to affirmatively choose
28the use of the voice recognition feature, including, but not limited
29to, a user setting.
30(2) A mechanism that allows a user to start and stop the voice
31recognition feature for the purpose of operating the connected
32television or using a specific software application on the television.
33(3) A mechanism that indicates to the user when the voice
34recognition feature is collecting or transmitting spoken
words or
35other sounds.
36(d) This section shall not apply to those products and services
37provided by companies covered by Section 637.5 of the Penal
38Code.
(a) Except for voice commands that are not recorded
2or transmitted beyond the connected television, a person or entity
3shall not use the features in a connected television that allow the
4collection, recording, storage, analysis, transmission,
5interpretation, or other use of the spoken word of a person within
6this state without informing the user or a person designated by the
7user to perform the initial setup or installation of the connected
8television. A manufacturer of a connected television or a third
9party that contracts with a manufacturer of a connected television
10to provide a voice recognition feature shall not use or sell for any
11advertising purpose any spoken word or other sound that was
12collected by a connected television for the purpose of improving
13the function, operation, or features of
the connected television,
14including, but not limited to, the provision of an accessible user
15interface for people with disabilities.
16(b) A person or entity shall not compel a manufacturer or entity
17offering features that allow the collection, recording, storage,
18analysis, transmission, interpretation, or other use of spoken words,
19to build specific features for the purpose of allowing an
20investigative or law enforcement officer to monitor communications
21through that feature.
22(c) A manufacturer shall only be liable for functionality provided
23at the time of the original sale of a connected television and shall
24not be liable for functionality provided by applications downloaded
25and installed by a user.
26(d) This section shall not apply to any product or service
27provided by a company covered under Section 637.5 of the
Penal
28Code.
For purposes of this chapter, the following
30definitions shall apply:
31(a) “Connected television” means abegin delete device that can be connected begin insert video device designed for home use to receive television
32to the Internet, receives television signals used to broadcast
33programs for entertainment, information, and education, and
34reproduces them on a screen, except that this term shall not include
35a personal computer, tablet, video game console, or cellular
36telephone.end delete
37signals and reproduce them on an integrated, physical screen
38display
that exceeds 12 inches, except that this term shall not
39include a personal computer, portable device, or a separate device
40that connects physically or wirelessly to a television, including,
P5 1but not limited to, a set-top box, video game console, or digital
2video recorder.end insert
3(b) “Enable” means to take an affirmative action to make a voice
4recognition feature operational on a connected television.
5(c)
end delete
6begin insert(b)end insert “User”begin delete mean an individualend deletebegin insert
means a personend insert who purchases,
7leases, or takes ownership of a connected television.begin insert
A person who
8is incidentally recorded when a voice recognition feature is
9activated by a user shall not be deemed to be a user.end insert
10(d)
end delete
11begin insert(c)end insert “Utilize” means to use a voice recognition feature that was
12previously enabled.
13(e)
end delete
14begin insert(d)end insert “Voice recognition
feature” means the function of a
15connected television that allows the collection, recording, storage,
16analysis, transmission, interpretation, or other use of spoken words
17or other sounds, except that this term shall not include voice
18commands that are not recorded or transmitted beyond the
19connected television.
Any waiver of the prohibitions in Section 22948.21
21is contrary to public policy and void and unenforceable.
(a) Actions for relief pursuant to this chapter may
23be prosecuted exclusively in a court of competent jurisdiction in
24a civil action brought in the name of the people of the State of
25California by the Attorney General or by any district attorney. This
26chapter shall not be deemed to create a private right of action, or
27limit any existing private right of action.
28(b) A court may enjoin a manufacturer that engages, has
29engaged, or proposes to engage, in a violation of this chapter. The
30court may make any orders or judgments as may be necessary to
31prevent a violation of this chapter.
32(c) A manufacturer that
engages, has engaged, or proposes to
33engage, in a violation of this chapter shall be liable for a civil
34penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)
35for each connected television in violation of this chapter. If the
36action is brought by the Attorney General, the penalty shall be
37deposited into the General Fund. If the action is brought by a
38district attorney, the penalty shall be paid to the treasurer of the
39county in which the judgment was entered.
The remedies or penalties provided by this chapter
2are cumulative to each other and to the remedies or penalties
3available under all other laws of the state.
The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any
5provision of this chapter or its application are held to be invalid,
6that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that
7can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
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