2016 Developments in Internet and Privacy Law

Veronica Besmer, Ravi Puri, and Mark Aldrich

Veronica Besmer is the founding attorney of the Besmer Law Firm in Los Angeles, California and is Co-Chair of the Internet and Privacy Law Committee.

Ravi Puri is a Director, Senior Legal Counsel with Western Digital Technologies, Inc. in Irvine, California and is Co-Chair of the Internet and Privacy Law Committee.

Mark Aldrich is Senior Product Counsel with Paragon Legal, PC, currently on a long-term secondment at Autodesk, Inc. in San Francisco, California, and is Vice Chair of the Internet and Privacy Law Committee.

This article focuses on the plethora of notable legal developments in internet and privacy law that impacted online businesses and consumers in 2016. Much of the content for this article is derived from contributions by members of the Internet and Privacy Law Committee, who submit regular e-bulletins to keep interested Business Law Section (BLS) members up to date on the latest internet and privacy law topics. To obtain periodic e-bulle-tins on Internet and Privacy Law, please sign up at http://businesslaw.calbar.ca.gov/StandingCommittees/SignUp-forStandingCommitteeEmailUpdates.aspx.

One important new regulatory change this past year dealt with the formalities required to obtain safe harbor protection under Section 512(c) of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) (17 U.S.C. § 512(c)). The Copyright Office now requires service providers to register and to renew their agent designations every 3 years. At the federal level, there were several noteworthy court decisions. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540 (2016), issued an important ruling concerning Article III standing for a consumer allegedly injured as a result of false online information. At the state level, there were new cases impacting the enforceability of web agreements, in which courts increasingly focused on whether consumers had actual or constructive notice of the contractual provisions. See, e.g., Long v. Provide Commerce, 245 Cal. App. 4th 855 (2016). See also Nicosia v. Amazon.com, Inc., 834 F.3d 220 (2d Cir. 2016) (applying Washington state law).

This bill amends section 523 ofthe Penal Code, relating to computer crimes. On September 27, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1137 into law to define "ransomware" and establish it as a crime punishable by imprisonment.

Under the new law, "ransomware" is defined as a computer contaminant (as defined in Cal. Penal Code §502) or lock placed or introduced without authorization into a computer, computer system, or computer network that restricts access by an authorized person to the computer, computer system, computer network, or any data therein under circumstances in which the person responsible for the placement or introduction of the ransomware demands payment of money or other consideration to remove the computer contaminant, restore access to the computer, computer system, computer network, or data, or otherwise remediate the impact of the computer contaminant or lock.

Effective Date: January 1, 2017

2016 Cal. Legis. Serv. Ch. 725 (SB 1137) (WEST). The full text of SB 1137 is also available at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1137

[Page 53]

This bill adds Section 1798.83.5 to the Civil Code. On September 24, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1687 into law to prohibit commercial online entertainment employment provider websites from publishing information about the age of any of its subscribers to ensure such information will not be used in furtherance of employment or age discrimination.

Effective Date: January 1, 2017

2016 Cal. Legis. Serv. Ch. 555 (AB 1687) (WEST). The full text of AB 1687 is also available at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1687

This bill amends Section 8262.1 ofthe Education Code. On September 13, 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1712 into law to permit contractors providing child care and development services to store records electronically and to use digital signatures as opposed to manual signatures.

Effective Date: January 1, 2017

2016 Cal. Legis. Serv. Ch. 324 (AB 1712) (WEST). The full text of AB 1712 is also available at...