News From Assemblymember Ed Chau

Legislation to combat Cyber sexual bullying at schools heads to the governor

On August 24, the Legislature took its final vote in support of AB 2536, authored by Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park), which addresses the issue of cyber sexual bullying. Specifically, it requires the California Department of Education to post information about the issue on the California Healthy Kids Resource Center internet website, and clarifies that sexual bullying is a part of cyberbullying.  This bill is now headed to the Governor’s desk for consideration.

“The act of sexting, which some view as a normal adolescent activity, exposes teens to bullying or harassment when their intimate images are taken without their knowledge or disseminated without their consent,” said Assemblymember Chau. “This type of bullying has unfortunately resulted in some teenagers committing suicide, and has left schools at a loss on how to address the complex challenges it presents in providing a safe environment for learning.”

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a recent survey found that 20% of  teenage boys and girls have sent a sext message. Sending sexually explicit photographs, videos or messages via cell phone or instant messenger has real dangers and consequences, because it is nearly impossible to control the flow of digital information once it leaves a person’s mobile device. With the click of a button, an image can be sent out to hundreds of people.

AB 2536 will clarify for administrators that cyber sexual bullying is a violation of school policy.  It also looks to the California Healthy Kids Resource Center, which maintains a comprehensive collection of reviewed education materials for use by teachers, administrators, and other professionals, as a tool to assist in addressing this issue.

“AB 2536 is intended to educate students on the potential consequences that come with cyber sexual bullying, in an effort to deter this type of behavior,” concluded Assemblymember Chau.

Legislation to Protect public from Drone Hit and Run Accidents Heading to Governor

On August 31, the Assembly and the Senate passed AB 1662, authored by Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park), which would protect people from “hit and run” drone accidents by requiring hobbyist drone operators to provide their name, address, and valid identification to the victim and the police in the event of an accident. The bill now heads to Governor Brown for his consideration.

“The Federal Aviation Administration stated that nearly a million drones were sold during the December holiday season in 2015, which shows how prevalent drones are becoming in our society.  As the number of drones increase in the coming years, so will the number of accidents,” said Assemblymember Chau.  “AB 1662 applies the principles of our vehicle hit and run laws to drones, because they are also capable of causing personal injury and property damage when they crash.”

In September 2015, an 11-month-old baby was injured in Pasadena, California when a hobbyist’s drone crashed on the ground near a stroller causing shrapnel to fly into the baby’s head.  According to news reports, the 24-year-old drone hobbyist, who was using his drone to view a nearby public screening of The Princess Bride, did the right thing by rushing over to the scene of the accident to help.  However, such a response is not required by law and the incident was only one of many drone crashes and near misses reported in recent months.

“This bill tells hobbyist drone operators to take responsibility for their actions by going to the scene and identifying themselves, the same way a responsible driver stays at the scene of a car accident and identifies himself or herself to victims and the police.”

Legislation protecting consumers signed by the governor

On September 13, Governor Brown signed two consumer protection bills, AB 2828 and AB 2307, authored by Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park).  AB 2828 expands the data breach notification law, which currently requires notice to consumers of compromised unencrypted personal information, to also include encrypted information, if the encryption keys have also been compromised.  AB 2307 protects consumers from credit card fraud and identity theft at the gas pump by requiring service agents to report to their county sealer any credit card skimming devices found in the course of their work.

“I applaud the Governor’s commitment to protecting consumers from having their personal information and accounts stolen by criminals, thieves and hackers, by signing AB 2828 and AB 2307,” said Assemblymember Chau, Chair of Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection.  “Both of these bills will make great strides, as proactive and preventative measures, in ensuring consumer safety.”

In February 2015, criminals accessed personal information, including names, addresses, birthdates, and Social Security numbers, of more than 80 million United States patients covered by one of the country’s largest health insurance and health plan providers.  The incident was the biggest theft of health care data in history.  Data breaches are also becoming increasingly sophisticated. Hackers are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to penetrate networks, such as gaining access to encryption keys, or security credentials, in order to access encrypted data.  As a result, security experts contend that encryption, by itself, cannot thwart criminals if the hack involves gaining access to security credentials.

“In an effort to protect consumers after a data breach, AB 2828 requires businesses and government agencies to notify affected consumers where encrypted personal information is disclosed and there is a reasonable belief that encryption keys or security credentials were also compromised and could render the breached information readable or useable,” said Assemblymember Chau. “This bill will allow victims to take the necessary steps to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft before the data is used or sold by the hackers.”

Law enforcement is seeing an increase of credit card “skimmers” throughout the state.  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. While California law requires the meters on gas pumps to be checked regularly for accuracy, there is no uniform process for dealing with these devices when they are discovered by a service agent in California.

“To ensure that there is a uniform process in protecting the public’s safety, AB 2307 requires all service agents to report credit card skimming devices to their county sealer, who then contacts the appropriate law enforcement authorities to conduct a proper investigation,” said Assemblymember Chau.  “This bill gives law enforcement the evidence it needs to investigate and stop criminals from stealing credit card information and committing fraud.”

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.