N.Y. General Business Law 390-C*2 – Posting of warnings by commercial entities offering internet access to the public
* § 390-c. Posting of warnings by commercial entities offering internet access to the public. 1. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
Terms Used In N.Y. General Business Law 390-C*2
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
(a) "Commercial entity" shall mean any entity doing business in New York state that: (i) for profit, offers goods or services for sale; (ii) stores personal information electronically; (iii) owns or operates a wireless network, or local area network; and (iv) offers public internet access whether for a fee or free of charge.
(b) "Local area network" shall mean a data communications system which interconnects computer systems at various local sites via access line or wire.
(c) "Firewall" shall mean a hardware device, software program or a combination of the two that protects a computer network from unauthorized access.
(d) "Public internet access" shall mean the ability of a person to log onto the internet at a location other than that person's home, through the use of a computer either owned by such person or provided to them by another person or commercial entity, for the purpose of accessing the internet.
(e) "Wireless network" shall mean a data communications system which interconnects computer systems at various local sites via radio signal.
2. Any commercial entity that offers the public the ability to use their computer for internet access shall conspicuously post a warning sign in their establishment and/or on the wireless network at a point in time prior to enabling the public to log on or gain access to the network. Such warning sign shall state that "For the purposes of your own protection and privacy, you are advised to install a firewall or other computer security measures when accessing the internet". Such sign shall include the internet address of the website created under subdivision three of this section.
3. The department of state shall establish an internet security website or webpage, that includes, but is not limited to, an explanation of what a firewall is and the importance of other internet security measures.
4. Any commercial entity that violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for the first violation, not more than two hundred fifty dollars for the second violation, and not more than five hundred dollars for each violation thereafter. The provisions of subdivision two of this section may be enforced concurrently by the director of a municipal consumer affairs office, or by the town attorney, city corporation counsel, or other lawful designee of a municipality or local government, and all moneys collected thereunder shall be retained by such municipality or local government.
* NB There are 2 § 390-c's