Assemblymember Ed Chau Introduces Bill to Prevent Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud at Gas Stations

On February 18 Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park), newly appointed Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, today introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 2307, to protect consumers from credit card fraud and identity theft at gas pumps.

“Crime rings in Los Angeles and other parts of California have discovered that slipping credit card skimmers into gas pumps is one of the easiest ways to steal money from people without getting caught,” said Assemblymember Chau. “The police know about the problem, but they need help tracking down the criminals.  This bill gives the police the leads and the evidence they need to investigate and stop criminals from stealing credit cards and committing fraud.”

Credit card “skimmers” are tiny devices criminals insert into gas pumps and ATM machines that “skim” or glean credit card information when people insert their cards for payment.  Some sophisticated devices can even wirelessly transmit the stolen data in real time to the criminals.  Gas station pumps are a common target for criminals, because they are often not as closely monitored as bank ATM machines.

“Your PIN and the ‘security code’ on the back of your card become useless as security tools when your credit card has been skimmed,” said Assemblymember Chau.  “That’s because these skimmer devices take everything, including your PIN and security code, so the criminals get exactly what they need to quickly charge up your card or take out cash advances from your account.”

California law requires the meters on gas pumps to be checked regularly for accuracy.  This bill requires all service agents who work on gas pump meters to confiscate and turn in credit card skimmers when they discover them inside gas pumps.  Reports from county sealers throughout California indicate that some service agents often dispose skimmers into the garbage or hand them over to gas station attendants instead of reporting the problem.  This bill requires all service agents to report credit card skimming and turn in all evidence within 24 hours to their county sealer, who then contacts the appropriate law enforcement authorities.

Assemblymember Chau Introduces Bill to Protect Online Privacy for Preschoolers with

Early Learning Privacy Information Protection Act

On February 23 Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park), newly appointed Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 2799 (Chau), the Early Learning Privacy Information Protection Act (ELPIPA), to protect the privacy of preschool aged children on mobile devices and the Internet.

“This bill is a logical next step following the Legislature’s passage of landmark student privacy legislation in 2014,” said Assemblymember Chau.  “Right now our laws protect children from the moment they enter a kindergarten classroom until they graduate from high school, but our laws don’t protect preschool children who play and learn using technology at home and in the classroom.”

In 2014, California became a national leader on student privacy protections with the unanimous passage of SB 1177 (Steinberg), known as the Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA).  SOPIPA went into effect on January 1, 2016, and ensures the privacy and security of personal information and educational records for children in K-12 classrooms.

“The Early Learning Personal Information Act is essential to help ensure California’s preschools remain privacy safety zones,” said Jim Steyer, CEO and Founder of Common Sense Kids Action. “As the use of tablets and technology grows, we must do more to protect the private information of all kids, especially our youngest kids. California has led the country in passing privacy legislation to protect kids and we commend Assemblymember Chau for once again making kids’ privacy a priority.”

Common Sense Media’s recent study, “Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America” found that technology and media use begins at an increasingly young age, with as many as 38% of kids under 2 years old using mobile devices for media in 2013. The report also found that half (50%) of all children ages 0 to 8 have used mobile apps, up from just 16% in 2011. The report cites that the most frequently used apps are educational games (43%), games that are just for fun (42%), and creative apps such as those for drawing, music, or photos (38%). For more information on the report, visit:  https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/zero-to-eight-childrens-media-use-in-america-2013.

AB 2799 (Chau), dubbed the Early Learning Privacy Information Protection Act (ELPIPA), extends the protections offered by SOPIPA to preschools and pre-kindergartens. ELPIPA imposes requirements directly on websites, online services, and mobile apps that are designed, marketed and used primarily for preschool and pre-kindergarten purposes.

Joint committees assess the progress of bringing cal-cloud services to state agencies

On March 9 The Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection and the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review held a joint hearing this morning to receive an update from the California Department of Technology (CDT) on its progress in bringing cloud-based software and other IT services to state agencies through California’s first-in-the-nation state-owned cloud program, called CalCloud.

“As the state moves towards using the cloud to store data and run computer systems, it’s crucial that the Legislature keep a close watch on the progress to make sure we are both saving money and improving the security of our state networks,” said Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection.  “CalCloud may one day hold the sensitive personal information of nearly all of California’s 38 million residents, and we have a duty, as the elected representatives of California taxpayers, to make sure this gets done right.”

“Today’s hearing demonstrated how important it is for the Legislature to provide oversight as new technology, such as CalCloud becomes more commonly used,” said Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review.   “Ensuring that CalCloud projects are delivered on time, and on budget, should remain a top priority to protect California taxpayers and employees.”

In 2014, CDT launched CalCloud, a public-private partnership designed to leverage the efficiency and flexibility of private sector cloud computing while maintaining state control over the provision of cloud-based services.  At the hearing, Carlos Ramos, CDT’s Director, testified on CDT’s recently renegotiated Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) contract with IBM, which has sharply reduced the cost of IaaS to state agencies.  According to Mr. Ramos, the state reduced prices by 45% over the initial IBM contract price.  CDT also presented information on new security features recently added to CalCloud as well as its recently launched Vendor Hosted Subscription Service (VHSS), which now offer to state and local agencies numerous cloud-based, vendor-hosted software services, such as email, office productivity software, digital signatures, and human resource management systems.

Other witnesses included Chris Cruz, Chief Deputy Director of Operations at CDT; Russ Nichols, Director of Enterprise Information Services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which is in the process of migrating its core business functions for all 38 prisons statewide into CalCloud; Rita Gass, Chief Information Officer at the California Conservation Corps, which recently started using a mobile recruiting app offered by San Francisco-based Salesforce through CalCloud; Stuart McKee, National Technology Officer for state and local governments at Microsoft, which recently began offering a number of products and services to state agencies through CalCloud; and Andrea Deveau, Executive Director of TechNet in California.

Assemblymember Ed Chau represents the 49th Assembly District, comprised of the communities of Alhambra, Arcadia, El Monte, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel, San Marino, Temple City and portions of Montebello, and South El Monte.