California Assembly Bill AB2667 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2667AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2014 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   amend Section 1812.622 of, and to add Section 1812.650 to,  the Civil Code, relating to electronic devices. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2667, as amended, Bloom.  Retail installment contracts:   Rental-purchase agreements:  electronic devices: monitoring technology. Existing law, the  Unruh Act,   Karnette Rental-Purchase Act,  provides for the regulation of  retail installment contracts,   rental-purchase agreements,  as defined. Existing law requires  retail installment contracts   rental-   purchase agreements  to contain specified notices, including, among other things, information on costs and terms of  repayment   payment  . Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to willfully violate the provisions regulating  retail installment contracts.   rental-purchase agreements.  This bill would add to these provisions regulating  retail contracts   rental-purchase agreements  provisions requiring a  retail seller   lessor  to provide clear and prominent notice to a  buyer   consumer  and obtain express consent from the  buyer   consumer  at the time  of sale of   the lessor and the consumer enter into a rental-purchase agreement for  an electronic device if that device has  monitoring technology or  geophysical location tracking technology installed and would prohibit a  seller   lessor  from installing the technology without providing clear and prominent notice and obtaining express consent from the  buyer.   consumer.  The bill would prohibit a  seller   lessor  from using  a monitoring technology or  geophysical location tracking technology on an electronic device for any purpose other than to prevent fraud.  The bill would prohibit a lessor from using monitoring technology on an electronic device.  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.   SECTION 1.   Section 1812.622 of the   Civil Code   is amended to read:  1812.622. As used in this title: (a) "Advertisement" means a commercial message in any medium that directly or indirectly solicits or promotes one or more specific rental-purchase transactions, excluding instore merchandising aids. This definition does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2 and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17500) of Part 3, of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code, to rental-purchase transactions. (b) "Consumer" means a natural person or persons who rent or lease personal property from a lessor pursuant to a rental-purchase agreement or to whom a lessor offers personal property for use pursuant to a rental-purchase agreement. (c) "Lessor" means any person or entity that provides or offers to provide personal property for use by consumers pursuant to a rental-purchase agreement. (d) "Rental-purchase agreement," except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, means an agreement between a lessor and a consumer pursuant to which the lessor rents or leases, for valuable consideration, personal property for use by a consumer for personal, family, or household purposes for an initial term not exceeding four months that may be renewed or otherwise extended, if under the terms of the agreement the consumer acquires an option or other legally enforceable right to become owner of the property. A rental-purchase agreement is a lease subject to Title 1.5 (commencing with Section 1750) and Title 1.7 (commencing with Section 1790). "Rental-purchase agreement" shall not be construed to be, nor be governed by, and shall not apply to, any of the following: (1) A retail installment sale, as defined in Section 1802.5. (2) A retail installment contract, as defined in Section 1802.6. (3) A retail installment account, as defined in Section 1802.7. (4) A lease or agreement that constitutes a security interest, as defined in Section 1201 of the Commercial Code. (5) A consumer credit contract, as defined in Section 1799.90. (e) "Cash price" means the price of the personal property described in the rental-purchase agreement that the consumer may pay in cash to the lessor at the inception of the rental-purchase agreement to acquire ownership of that personal property. (f) "Cost of rental" means the difference between the total of all periodic payments necessary to acquire ownership under the rental-purchase agreement and the cash price of the rental property that is subject to the rental-purchase agreement. (g) "Fee" means any payment, charge, fee, cost, or expense, however denominated, other than a rental payment. (h) "Appliance" means and includes any refrigerator, freezer, range including any cooktop or oven, microwave oven, washer, dryer, dishwasher, or room air conditioner or air purifier. (i) "Electronic set" means and includes any television, radio, camera, video game, or any type of device for the recording, storage, copying, printing, transmission, display, or playback of any sound or image, but does not include any item that is part of a computer system. (j) "Computer system" means a computer processor and a video monitor, printer, and peripheral items primarily designed for use with a computer. Audio and video devices, which are commonly used for entertainment and into which data may be downloaded from a computer, are not part of a computer system. (k) "Lessor's cost" means the documented actual cost, including actual freight charges, of the rental property to the lessor from a wholesaler, distributor, supplier, or manufacturer and net of any discounts, rebates, and incentives. (  l  ) "Total of payments" means the total amount of periodic payments necessary to acquire ownership of the property that is the subject of the rental-purchase agreement if the consumer makes all regularly scheduled payments.  (m) "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.   (n) "Clear and prominent notice" means notice presented in an understandable language and syntax, in the predominantly used language for that communication, and that:   (1) 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.   (2) 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.   (3) In communications disseminated through video means, the required disclosures are in writing in a form consistent with paragraph (1) 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.   (4) 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 paragraph (1), in addition to any audio or video presentation.   (o) "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.   (p) "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. 2.   Section 1812.650 is added to the   Civil Code   , to read:   1812.650. (a) A lessor shall provide clear and prominent notice to a consumer and obtain express consent from the consumer at the time the lessor and the consumer enter into a rental-purchase agreement for an electronic device if that device has geophysical location tracking technology installed. A lessor shall not install geophysical location tracking technology on an electronic device without first providing clear and prominent notice to the consumer and obtaining express consent. (b) A lessor shall not use geophysical location tracking technology on an electronic device for any purpose other than the prevention of fraud. (c) A lessor shall not use monitoring technology on an electronic device for any purpose.   SEC. 7.   SEC. 3.  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.