SF 1716

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to consumer protection; regulating the use 
  1.3             and dissemination of personally identifiable 
  1.4             information on consumers by interactive services 
  1.5             providers; prohibiting certain false or misleading 
  1.6             commercial electronic mail messages; imposing 
  1.7             penalties; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.8             Statutes, chapter 325F; proposing coding for new law 
  1.9             as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 13D. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  [13D.01] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] The definitions in this section 
  1.13  apply to this chapter. 
  1.14     Subd. 2.  [CONSUMER.] "Consumer" means a person who agrees 
  1.15  to pay a fee for access to an interactive services provider for 
  1.16  personal, family, or household purposes. 
  1.17     Subd. 3.  [INTERACTIVE SERVICES PROVIDER.] "Interactive 
  1.18  services provider" means a person in the primary business of 
  1.19  offering access to online or Internet information directly to or 
  1.20  for a consumer via telecommunications.  Interactive services 
  1.21  provider includes electronic publishing but does not include: 
  1.22     (1) a service that is provided to business, professional, 
  1.23  or commercial users; 
  1.24     (2) a use of the capability for the management, control, or 
  1.25  operation of a telecommunications system or the management of a 
  1.26  telecommunications service; or 
  1.27     (3) a governmental entity. 
  2.1      Subd. 4.  [ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS.] "Ordinary course 
  2.2   of business" means debt collection activities, order 
  2.3   fulfillment, request processing, or the transfer of ownership. 
  2.4      Subd. 5.  [PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION.] 
  2.5   "Personally identifiable information" means information that 
  2.6   identifies: 
  2.7      (1) a person by physical or electronic address or telephone 
  2.8   number; 
  2.9      (2) a person as having requested or obtained specific 
  2.10  materials or services from an interactive services provider; 
  2.11     (3) Internet or online sites visited by a person; or 
  2.12     (4) any of the contents of a person's data storage devices. 
  2.13     Subd. 6.  [TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.] "Telecommunications 
  2.14  service" means the offering, on a common carrier basis, of 
  2.15  telecommunications facilities or of telecommunications by means 
  2.16  of these facilities.  It does not include an interactive 
  2.17  services provider. 
  2.18     Sec. 2.  [13D.02] [DISCLOSURE OF CONSUMER'S PERSONALLY 
  2.19  IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION.] 
  2.20     Subdivision 1.  [DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.] Except as provided 
  2.21  in subdivisions 2 and 3, an interactive services provider who 
  2.22  knowingly discloses personally identifiable information 
  2.23  concerning a consumer of the interactive services provider is 
  2.24  liable to the consumer for the relief provided in section 13D.03.
  2.25     Subd. 2.  [DISCLOSURE REQUIRED.] An interactive services 
  2.26  provider shall disclose personally identifiable information 
  2.27  concerning a consumer: 
  2.28     (1) to a grand jury pursuant to a grand jury subpoena; 
  2.29     (2) to an investigative or law enforcement officer as 
  2.30  defined in section 626A.01, subdivision 7, carrying out conduct 
  2.31  authorized by chapter 626A or United States Code, title 18, 
  2.32  sections 2510 to 2521; 
  2.33     (3) pursuant to a court order in a civil proceeding upon a 
  2.34  showing of compelling need for the information that cannot be 
  2.35  accommodated by other means; or 
  2.36     (4) to a court in a civil action for conversion commenced 
  3.1   by the interactive services provider or in a civil action to 
  3.2   enforce collection of unpaid subscription fees or purchase 
  3.3   amounts, and then only to the extent necessary to establish the 
  3.4   fact of the subscription delinquency or purchase agreement, and 
  3.5   with appropriate safeguards against unauthorized disclosure. 
  3.6      Subd. 3.  [DISCLOSURE PERMITTED; CONSENT.] (a) An 
  3.7   interactive services provider may disclose personally 
  3.8   identifiable information concerning a consumer to: 
  3.9      (1) the consumer; 
  3.10     (2) any person if the disclosure is incident to the 
  3.11  ordinary course of business of the interactive services 
  3.12  provider; or 
  3.13     (3) any person with the informed consent of the consumer. 
  3.14     (b) The interactive services provider may obtain the 
  3.15  consumer's informed consent to the disclosure of personally 
  3.16  identifiable information in writing or by electronic means.  The 
  3.17  request for consent must reasonably describe the types of 
  3.18  persons to whom personally identifiable information may be 
  3.19  disclosed and anticipated uses of the information.  A consent 
  3.20  may be obtained in a manner consistent with self-regulatory 
  3.21  guidelines issued by representatives of the interactive services 
  3.22  provider industry or other representatives of the marketing or 
  3.23  online industries, or in any other manner reasonably designed to 
  3.24  comply with this paragraph. 
  3.25     Subd. 4.  [SECURED ACCOUNT.] The interactive services 
  3.26  provider shall provide the consumer with a secured, verifiable 
  3.27  account.  The interactive services provider shall maintain the 
  3.28  security and privacy of a consumer's personally identifiable 
  3.29  information concerning this account. 
  3.30     Subd. 5.  [EXCLUSION FROM EVIDENCE.] Personally 
  3.31  identifiable information obtained in any manner other than as 
  3.32  provided in this section may not be received in evidence in any 
  3.33  trial, hearing, arbitration, or other proceeding before any 
  3.34  court, grand jury, officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative 
  3.35  committee, or other authority of the state or any political 
  3.36  subdivision. 
  4.1      Sec. 3.  [13D.03] [ENFORCEMENT; CIVIL LIABILITY.] 
  4.2      A consumer who prevails or substantially prevails in an 
  4.3   action brought under sections 13D.01 to 13D.04 is entitled to 
  4.4   the greater of $500 or actual damages, plus costs, 
  4.5   disbursements, and reasonable attorney fees. 
  4.6      Sec. 4.  [13D.04] [OTHER LAW.] 
  4.7      This chapter does not limit any greater protection of the 
  4.8   privacy of information under other law. 
  4.9      Sec. 5.  [13D.05] [APPLICATION.] 
  4.10     This chapter applies to interactive services providers in 
  4.11  the provision of services to consumers in this state. 
  4.12     Sec. 6.  [325F.694] [FALSE OR MISLEADING COMMERCIAL 
  4.13  ELECTRONIC MAIL MESSAGES.] 
  4.14     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) The definitions in this 
  4.15  subdivision apply to this section. 
  4.16     (b) "Commercial electronic mail message" means an 
  4.17  electronic mail message sent for the purpose of promoting real 
  4.18  property, goods, or services for sale or lease. 
  4.19     (c) "Electronic mail address" means a destination, commonly 
  4.20  expressed as a string of characters, to which electronic mail 
  4.21  may be sent or delivered. 
  4.22     (d) "Initiate the transmission" refers to the action by the 
  4.23  original sender of an electronic mail message, not to the action 
  4.24  by an intervening interactive computer service that may handle 
  4.25  or retransmit the message. 
  4.26     (e) "Interactive computer service" means any information 
  4.27  service, system, or access software provider that provides or 
  4.28  enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, 
  4.29  including a service or system that provides access to the 
  4.30  Internet and these systems operated or services offered by 
  4.31  libraries or educational institutions. 
  4.32     (f) "Internet domain name" refers to a globally unique, 
  4.33  hierarchical reference to an Internet host or service, assigned 
  4.34  through centralized Internet naming authorities, comprising a 
  4.35  series of character strings separated by periods, with the 
  4.36  right-most string specifying the top of the hierarchy. 
  5.1      Subd. 2.  [FALSE OR MISLEADING MESSAGES PROHIBITED.] (a) No 
  5.2   person may initiate the transmission of a commercial electronic 
  5.3   mail message from a computer located in this state or to an 
  5.4   electronic mail address that the sender knows, or has reason to 
  5.5   know, is held by a resident of this state that: 
  5.6      (1) uses a third-party's Internet domain name without 
  5.7   permission of the third party, or otherwise misrepresents any 
  5.8   information in identifying the point of origin or the 
  5.9   transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message; or 
  5.10     (2) contains false or misleading information in the subject 
  5.11  line. 
  5.12     (b) For purposes of this subdivision, a person knows that 
  5.13  the intended recipient of a commercial electronic mail message 
  5.14  is a resident of this state if that information is available, 
  5.15  upon request, from the registrant of the Internet domain name 
  5.16  contained in the recipient's electronic mail address. 
  5.17     Subd. 3.  [DAMAGES.] In addition to remedies available 
  5.18  under section 8.31, 325F.70, or other law: 
  5.19     (1) a recipient of a commercial electronic mail message 
  5.20  sent in violation of this section is entitled to damages of 
  5.21  $500, or actual damages, whichever is greater; and 
  5.22     (2) an interactive computer service that is injured by a 
  5.23  violation of this section is entitled to damages of $1,000, or 
  5.24  actual damages, whichever is greater. 
  5.25     Subd. 4.  [BLOCKING RECEIPT OR TRANSMISSION.] (a) An 
  5.26  interactive computer service may, upon its own initiative, block 
  5.27  the receipt or transmission through its service of any 
  5.28  commercial electronic mail that it reasonably believes is, or 
  5.29  will be, sent in violation of this section. 
  5.30     (b) No interactive computer service may be held liable for 
  5.31  any action voluntarily taken in good faith to block the receipt 
  5.32  or transmission through its service of any commercial electronic 
  5.33  mail that it reasonably believes is, or will be, sent in 
  5.34  violation of this section.