Tracked: Domestic Violence in the Tech Age

AB 3139, as amended, Weber. Data privacy: vehicle manufacturers: remote vehicle technology.

Existing law establishes various privacy requirements applicable to vehicle manufacturers, including limitations on the usage of images or video recordings from in-vehicle cameras in new motor vehicles equipped standard with one or more in-vehicle cameras. Existing law provides various protections to persons who are escaping from actual or threatened domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, and other abuse, including providing for a means to keep the names and addresses of abuse survivors confidential in public records.

This bill would, among other things, require a vehicle manufacturer that offers a vehicle for sale, rent, or lease in the state that includes remote vehicle technology to do certain things, including ensure that the remote vehicle technology can be immediately manually disabled by a driver of the vehicle while that driver is inside the vehicle by a method that, among other things, is prominently located and easy to use and does not require access to a remote, online application. The bill would require a vehicle manufacturer to offer secure remote means via the internet for a survivor to submit a vehicle separation notice that meets specified requirements. The bill would define “survivor” to mean an individual who has a covered act committed, or allegedly committed, against the individual. The bill would define “covered act” to mean, among other things, certain crimes relating to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking.

This bill would require a survivor to submit a vehicle separation notice through the secure remote means described above within 7 days of the date on which the survivor used the method of manually disabling remote vehicle technology and would require the notice to include prescribed information, including a statement by the survivor signed under penalty of perjury that a perpetrator who has access to the remote vehicle technology in the vehicle has committed committed, or allegedly committed committed, a covered act against the survivor or an individual in the survivor’s care, or a copy of specified documents that support that the perpetrator has committed committed, or allegedly committed committed, a covered act against the survivor or an individual in the survivor’s care, including a signed affidavit from, among other specified individuals acting within the scope of their employment, a licensed medical care provider.

By requiring a survivor to submit a statement signed under penalty of perjury or requiring specified individuals to sign an affidavit, the bill would expand the crime of perjury and impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make a vehicle manufacturer that violates the above-described provisions liable in a civil action brought by a survivor for, among other things, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of the prevailing survivor, in addition to any other remedy provided by law. The bill would specify that any waiver of the requirements of the above-described provisions is against public policy, void, and unenforceable. statutory damages in an amount not to exceed $50,000 or not to exceed $100,000 for a knowing violation.

This bill would define various terms for these purposes, purposes and would make related findings and declarations.

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.

DIGEST KEY

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal Committee: yes   Local Program: yes  

BILL TEXT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLL