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Bills

AB 1950: Consumers: Internet privacy.

  • Session Year: 2017-2018
  • House: Assembly
  • Latest Version Date: 2018-04-19
Version:

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 conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Web site or to make that policy available, as specified, and to comply with that policy. Existing law requires the privacy policy to, among other things, disclose whether other parties may collect personally identifiable information about an individual consumers online activities over time and across different Web sites when a consumer uses the operators Web site or service.

This bill would require the privacy policy also to disclose that the operator utilizes bots for the dissemination of information and that bots are software that can execute commands, reply to messages, gather information, or perform routine tasks such as online searches, either automatically or with minimal human intervention.

Existing law prohibits a person, firm, corporation or association, or any employee thereof, from making or disseminating in any advertising device, or in any manner or means whatever, including over the Internet, any statement concerning real or personal property or services that is untrue or misleading, as specified.This bill would prohibit an operator of a social media Internet Web site with a physical presence in California from engaging in the sale of advertising with a computer software account or user that performs an automated task, and that is not verified by the operator as being controlled by a natural person. The bill would require an operator of a social media Internet Web site with a physical presence in California to verify whether an account or profile it hosts on its Internet Web site is being controlled by a computer software account or user that performs an automated task, and if so, to prominently indicate that to users of its site. The bill would require an operator of a social media Internet Web site with a physical presence in California to require an account or profile it hosts on its Internet Web site that it identifies as being controlled by a computer software account or user that performs an automated task to be linked to a natural person.

Discussed in Hearing

Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection13MIN
May 1, 2018

Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection

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News Coverage:

AB 1950: Consumers: Internet privacy. | Digital Democracy