SENATE, No. 1809

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED JANUARY 27, 1997

By Senator CODEY

An Act concerning the sale of certain information regarding minors and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1.    As used in this act:

    "List broker" means a person who, in the course of business, maintains or provides mailing lists or computerized or telephone reference services containing personal information regarding minors;

    "Minor" means a person under the age of 18;

    "Parent" means a parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of a minor; and

    "Personal information" means information, including, but not limited to, name, address, telephone number, social security number, electronic mail address and physical description, regarding a minor that would suffice to locate and contact that individual.

    2.    a. No list broker shall knowingly rent, sell or otherwise release personal information regarding a minor to any person without first having obtained the written permission of the minor's parent.

    b.    No list broker shall knowingly fail to comply with the request of a minor's parent to disclose the source of any personal information regarding that minor that has been rented, sold or otherwise released by the list broker, or the identity of all persons to whom personal information regarding that minor has been disclosed.

    3.    A violation of this act shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $5,000. The second and any subsequent offense shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000. Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section shall be collected by summary proceedings instituted in the name of the Attorney General in accordance with "the penalty enforcement law," N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq.

    4.    The Attorney General of the State of New Jersey shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

    5.    This act shall take effect on the 90th day after the day of enactment.

STATEMENT

    This bill prohibits any person who, in the course of business, maintains or provides mailing lists or computerized or telephone reference services containing personal information regarding minors under the age of 18, from knowingly renting, selling or otherwise releasing this information without first having obtained the written permission of that minor's parent or guardian. The bill also stipulates that no list broker shall knowingly fail to comply with the request of a minor's parent to disclose the source of any personal information regarding that minor that has been rented, sold or otherwise released by the list broker; or the identity of all persons to whom personal information about that child has been disclosed. As provided in this bill, "personal information" means information, including, but not limited to, name, address, telephone number, social security number, electronic mail address and physical description, about a person under the age of 18 that would suffice to locate and contact that individual.

    A violation of these requirements would result in a fine not to exceed $5,000 for the first offense and up to $10,000 for any subsequent offense.

Regulates sale of certain information concerning persons under 18 years of age.