FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 20, 2018

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Monica Wallace today announced Assembly passage of legislation to protect New Yorker's personal information online by giving them control over whether their data may be collected or disclosed by their internet services providers (ISP) (A.7191-B, Wallace).

"Congress may not have a problem with internet providers selling our personal information for a profit, but the Assembly Majority does," Speaker Heastie said. "We will continue to craft legislation that allows New Yorkers to protect their personal information."

"This legislation will protect the sensitive information of New York families from being sold to the highest bidder without consent," Assemblymember Wallace said. "The internet is a necessity that has become a critical aspect of our everyday lives - from shopping, to applying for jobs or loans, researching doctors and illnesses, to paying bills, we depend on it for so many things. Access to this unprecedented breadth of information raises serious privacy concerns, which is why we need to act to protect costumers."

"New Yorkers deserve a say in who has access to their personal information," Consumer Affairs and Protection Chair Matthew Titone said. "Today's bill will ensure that ISPs cannot sell off personal information without our consent."

The legislation would require ISPs to obtain consent from their customers before collecting or disclosing any of the customer's personally identifiable information. The bill would also prevent ISPs from refusing to provide service if the customer does not consent to the collection of or disclosure of such information. ISPs have access to an incredible amount of consumers' personal information, including financial information, search and browsing history, geo-location information, and the content of electronic communications.

In 2017, Congress repealed similar internet privacy legislation that was due to take effect later that year.