Bill Text: NY A01035 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Prohibits the use of social media websites for the purposes of debt collection.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-05 - RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY [A01035 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01035-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1035--B

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN, DICKENS, TAYLOR, GIBBS, GONZA-
          LEZ-ROJAS,  SIMON,  LEE  -- read once and referred to the Committee on
          Consumer Affairs and Protection -- recommitted  to  the  Committee  on
          Consumer  Affairs  and  Protection in accordance with Assembly Rule 3,
          sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as
          amended  and recommitted to said committee -- reported and referred to
          the Committee on Rules -- Rules Committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the
          use of social media platforms for the purposes of collecting debts

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 601 of the  general  business  law  is  amended  by
     2  adding a new subdivision 12 to read as follows:
     3    12.  Use  a  social media platform as a means to collect on a consumer
     4  claim from a debtor. For purposes of  this  subdivision,  "social  media
     5  platform" means a public or semi-public internet-based service or appli-
     6  cation  that has users in New York state that meets the following crite-
     7  ria:
     8    (a) a substantial function of the service or application is to connect
     9  users in order to allow users to interact socially with each other with-
    10  in the service or application. A service or  application  that  provides
    11  e-mail    or  direct  messaging services shall not be considered to meet
    12  this criterion on the basis of that function alone; and
    13    (b) the service or application allows individuals to: (i) construct  a
    14  public  or  semi-public profile for purposes of signing up and using the
    15  service or application; (ii) create a list of other users with whom they
    16  share a connection within the system; and (iii) create or  post  content
    17  viewable  or  audible  by  other  users,  including, but not limited to,
    18  livestreams, on message boards, in chat rooms, or through a landing page
    19  or main feed that presents the user  with  content  generated  by  other
    20  users.
    21    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01176-04-4