Bill Text: NY S00158 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Provides for the protection of health information; establishes requirements for communications to individuals about their health information; requires either written consent or a designated necessary purpose for the processing of an individual's health information.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2024-06-03 - ordered to third reading rules cal.310 [S00158 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00158-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           158

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Internet and Technology

        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to privacy  stand-
          ards  for electronic health products and services and permissible data
          brokering

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

     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new article
     2  42 to read as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 42
     4                   ELECTRONIC HEALTH PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

     5  Section 1100. Definitions.
     6          1101. Electronic health products and services; privacy.
     7          1102. Private right of action.
     8          1103. Actions that are HIPAA compliant.
     9    §  1100.  Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following
    10  terms shall have the following meanings:
    11    1. "Consent" means an  action  which  (a)  clearly  and  conspicuously
    12  communicates the individual's voluntary authorization of an act or prac-
    13  tice;  (b) is made in the absence of any mechanism in the user interface
    14  that has the purpose or substantial effect of obscuring, subverting,  or
    15  impairing decision making or choice to obtain consent; and (c) cannot be
    16  inferred  from  inaction. A request for consent shall be provided to the
    17  individual in a clear and conspicuous disclosure, apart from any privacy
    18  policy, terms of service, terms of use, general release, user agreement,
    19  or other similar document, of all information material to the  provision
    20  of consent.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01105-01-3

        S. 158                              2

     1    2.  "Deactivation"  means  a user's deletion, removal, or other action
     2  made to terminate his or her use of  an  electronic  health  product  or
     3  service.
     4    3.  "Electronic health product or service" means any software or hard-
     5  ware, including a mobile application, website, or other related  product
     6  or  service,  that  is designed to maintain personal health information,
     7  designed to diagnose or designed to infer a medical diagnosis, in  order
     8  to  make  such  personal  health information available to a user or to a
     9  health care provider at the request of such user or health care  provid-
    10  er, for the purposes of allowing such user to manage his or her informa-
    11  tion, or for the diagnosis, inferred diagnosis, treatment, or management
    12  of a medical condition.
    13    4. "Health care provider" means:
    14    (a) a hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of the public health
    15  law, a home care services agency as defined in article thirty-six of the
    16  public  health  law, a hospice as defined in article forty of the public
    17  health law, a health maintenance  organization  as  defined  in  article
    18  forty-four  of  the  public  health  law, or a shared health facility as
    19  defined in article forty-seven of the public health law; or
    20    (b) a person  licensed  under  article  one  hundred  thirty-one,  one
    21  hundred  thirty-one-B, one hundred thirty-two, one hundred thirty-three,
    22  one hundred thirty-six, one hundred thirty-nine, one hundred  forty-one,
    23  one  hundred  forty-three,  one  hundred  forty-four, one hundred fifty-
    24  three, one hundred fifty-four, one  hundred  fifty-six  or  one  hundred
    25  fifty-nine of the education law.
    26    5.  "Personal  health information" means any individually identifiable
    27  information about an individual's mental or physical condition  provided
    28  by  such  individual,  or otherwise gained from monitoring such individ-
    29  ual's mental or physical condition.
    30    6. "User" means an individual who has downloaded or uses an electronic
    31  health product or service.
    32    7. "Consumer data" means any information that identifies, relates  to,
    33  describes, is capable of being  associated  with, or could reasonably be
    34  linked,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  with  a  particular consumer
    35  regardless if such data can be derived by the  consumer,  household,  or
    36  consumer device or derived from other sources such as an internet proto-
    37  col address.
    38    8. "Data processing" means the collection, use, disclosure, retention,
    39  or processing of personal health information or other data.
    40    9.  "Covered  organization"  means an entity, including a data broker,
    41  that offers an electronic health product or service that is  subject  to
    42  the provisions of this article.
    43    10.  "Data  broker"  means  a  person  or  entity that collects, buys,
    44  licenses, or infers data about individuals and then sells, licenses,  or
    45  trades that data.
    46    11. "Digital advertiser" means any person, corporation, partnership or
    47  association that delivers digital advertisements by electronic means.
    48    12.  "Digital advertisement" shall include any communication delivered
    49  by electronic means that is intended to be  used  for  the  purposes  of
    50  marketing,   solicitation,  or  dissemination  of  information  related,
    51  directly or indirectly, to goods or services  provided  by  the  digital
    52  advertiser or a third party.
    53    13.  "Geofencing"  means  a  technology  that  uses global positioning
    54  system  coordinates,  cell  tower  connectivity,  cellular  data,  radio
    55  frequency  identification,  Wi-Fi data and/or any other form of location
    56  detection, to establish  a  virtual  boundary  or  "geofence"  around  a

        S. 158                              3

     1  particular  location  that  allows  a  digital  advertiser  to track the
     2  location of an  individual  user  and  electronically  deliver  targeted
     3  digital  advertisements  directly to such user's mobile device upon such
     4  user's entry into the geofenced area.
     5    §  1101.  Electronic health products and services; privacy. 1.  (a) It
     6  shall be unlawful for a covered organization to engage in data  process-
     7  ing, geofencing, or data brokering unless:
     8    (i) the user to whom the information or data pertains has given affir-
     9  mative  express  consent  to  such  data  processing and if such covered
    10  organization will broker user data, the user  must  also  give  separate
    11  affirmative consent to such data brokering; and
    12    (ii)  such  data processing, geofencing or data brokering, is strictly
    13  necessary and for the purpose of:
    14    (A) protecting against malicious, fraudulent, or illegal activity;
    15    (B) detecting, responding to,  or  preventing  security  incidents  or
    16  threats; or
    17    (C) complying with a court order issued to the covered organization.
    18    (b)  The general nature of any data processing or data brokering shall
    19  be conveyed by the covered organization in clear and prominent terms  in
    20  such  a  way  that an ordinary consumer would notice and understand such
    21  terms.
    22    (c) A user may consent to data processing or data brokering on  behalf
    23  of his or her dependent minors.
    24    (d)  A covered organization shall provide an effective mechanism for a
    25  user to revoke their consent after it is given.  After  a  user  revokes
    26  their  consent, the covered organization shall cease all data processing
    27  and data brokering of such user's personal health information  or  other
    28  data  as soon as practicable, but not later than fifteen days after such
    29  user revokes such consent.
    30    2. In order to obtain consent in compliance with  subdivision  one  of
    31  this section, a covered organization offering an electronic health prod-
    32  uct or service shall:
    33    (a)  disclose  to  the  user  all  data,  personal health information,
    34  location data, and other personal data such electronic health product or
    35  service will collect from the user upon obtaining consent;
    36    (b) disclose to the user all  third  parties  with  whom  such  user's
    37  personal  health information or other personal data may be shared by the
    38  electronic health product or service upon obtaining consent;
    39    (c) disclose to the user  the  purpose  for  collecting  any  personal
    40  health information or other personal data; and
    41    (d) allow the user to withdraw consent at any time.
    42    3.  No electronic health product or service shall collect any personal
    43  health information or other  personal  data  beyond  which  a  user  has
    44  specifically  consented  to share with such electronic health product or
    45  service under subdivision one of this section.
    46    4. (a) An electronic health product or service shall delete or  other-
    47  wise  destroy  any  personal  health  information or other personal data
    48  collected from a user immediately upon such user's  request,  withdrawal
    49  of consent; or upon such user's deactivation of his or her account.
    50    (b)  A  covered  organization  that  collects a user's personal health
    51  information or other data shall limit its collection and sharing of that
    52  information with third parties to what is strictly necessary to  provide
    53  a service or conduct an activity that a user has requested or is strict-
    54  ly necessary for security or fraud prevention.
    55    (c)  A  covered  organization  that  collects a user's personal health
    56  information or other data shall limit its  use  and  retention  of  such

        S. 158                              4

     1  information  to  what  is  reasonably  necessary to provide a service or
     2  conduct an activity that a user has requested or a  related  operational
     3  purpose,  provided  that  information  collected  or retained solely for
     4  security or fraud prevention may not be used for operational purposes.
     5    5.  A  covered  organization  shall  not  discriminate  against a user
     6  because the user exercised any of the user's rights under this title, or
     7  did not agree to  information  processing  for  a  separate  product  or
     8  service, including, but not limited to, by:
     9    (a) Denying goods or services to the user.
    10    (b)  Charging different prices or rates for goods or services, includ-
    11  ing through the use of discounts or other benefits  or  imposing  penal-
    12  ties.
    13    (c) Providing a different level or quality of goods or services to the
    14  user.
    15    (d)  Suggesting  that  the  consumer will receive a different price or
    16  rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of  goods  or
    17  services.
    18    6.  A  covered  organization  shall  implement and maintain reasonable
    19  security procedures and practices, including  administrative,  physical,
    20  and  technical  safeguards, appropriate to the nature of the information
    21  and the purposes for which the personal health information or other data
    22  will be used, to protect consumers' personal health information or other
    23  data from unauthorized use, disclosure, access, destruction, or  modifi-
    24  cation.
    25    7.  (a)  It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, partnership
    26  or association to deliver by electronic means any digital  advertisement
    27  to  a  user through the use of geofencing at any health care facility as
    28  defined in subdivision one of this section.
    29    (b) It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation,  partnership  or
    30  association  to  establish  a geofence or similar virtual boundary in or
    31  around any health care facility for the purpose of delivering  by  elec-
    32  tronic  means  a digital advertisement to a user within such health care
    33  facility.
    34    § 1102. Private right of action. 1. Any person who has been injured by
    35  reason of a violation of this article may bring an action in his or  her
    36  own  name, or in the name of his or her minor child, to seek declaratory
    37  relief, to enjoin such unlawful  act,  to  recover  his  or  her  actual
    38  damages, to seek statutory damages as provided pursuant to this section,
    39  or  any  combination  of  such  actions.  Any  violation of this article
    40  constitutes an injury-in-fact and a harm to any affected individual. The
    41  court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
    42    2. Any covered organization that violates this article is  subject  to
    43  declaratory  judgment,  an injunction and liable for damages and a civil
    44  penalty. When calculating damages and civil penalties, the  court  shall
    45  consider  the  number  of  affected  individuals,  the  severity  of the
    46  violation, and the size and revenues of the covered organization.  Addi-
    47  tionally,  statutory  damages  shall  be  awarded  in the amount of five
    48  hundred dollars per violation. Each individual whose data was unlawfully
    49  processed counts as a separate violation. Each provision of this article
    50  that was violated counts as a separate violation.
    51    § 1103. Actions that are HIPAA  compliant.  Nothing  in  this  article
    52  shall  prohibit  any action taken with respect to the health information
    53  of an individual by a data  broker  that  is  a  business  associate  or
    54  covered  organization  that is permissible under the federal regulations
    55  concerning standards for privacy  of  individually  identifiable  health

        S. 158                              5

     1  information  promulgated  under  section  264(c) of the Health Insurance
     2  Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d- 20 2 note).
     3    §  2.  Severability.  If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,
     4  section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of  competent
     5  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or
     6  invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation
     7  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof
     8  directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment  shall  have
     9  been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature
    10  that  this  act  would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions
    11  had not been included herein.
    12    § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    13  have become a law.
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