AB 2007 would create new rules for non-school youth programs in California, such as expanded learning programs, arts programs, athletics, recreation, and educational enrichment activities. The bill generally prohibits these programs from using a youth’s identifying information — including pictures, video, audio recordings, likenesses, attributed statements, and other personal information — for any purpose, except that the information may be used for marketing purposes if the parent or guardian gives express written or electronic consent after receiving a detailed notice. The notice must clearly describe the requested uses, be separate from enrollment or liability documents, explain the reason for the request, and tell the parent or guardian how to revoke consent.
The bill also bars youth programs from conditioning enrollment or participation on a parent’s consent, and it prohibits the sale or sharing of a youth’s covered information under any circumstance, even with consent. If a program violates the law, a parent or guardian may sue and seek up to $5,000 per youth whose information was disclosed, along with injunctive or declaratory relief, attorneys’ fees, costs, and other court-ordered remedies. The measure would be added to the Business and Professions Code, creating a new statutory framework focused on youth privacy in extracurricular and community-based programs rather than schools.
The bill’s impact would be to impose a new privacy and consent regime on a broad range of youth-serving organizations outside the school setting. Affected entities would need to review their media, publicity, and social media practices, revise consent forms, and ensure that any marketing use of youth information is narrowly limited to the specific consent given. It would also create a private right of action, increasing legal exposure for programs that fail to comply. Because the bill targets non-school youth programs, it would not directly regulate public or private elementary and secondary schools, but it would affect many nonprofit, recreational, arts, and enrichment providers.
The overall sentiment reflected in the voting history appears strongly supportive and noncontroversial at the committee level. The bill passed both recorded committee votes unanimously, first 15-0 and then 12-0, and was advanced with a recommendation to the consent calendar in Appropriations. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate significant opposition. The available history suggests broad agreement with the bill’s privacy protections for minors.
The main point of contention, based on the text itself, is the scope of the restrictions and the potential compliance burden on youth programs. Programs that rely on photos, videos, newsletters, or social media to promote activities may need to change longstanding practices, and the bill’s prohibition on selling or sharing youth information is especially strict. Another possible issue is the civil penalty of up to $5,000 per youth, which could be viewed as a strong enforcement mechanism and a source of litigation risk. Even so, the recorded votes suggest these concerns did not generate visible opposition in committee.
AB 2007 would add Chapter 2.10 to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, establishing new privacy requirements for non-school youth programs. It would regulate the collection and use of youth identifying information, limit marketing uses to cases with express parental consent, prohibit conditioning participation on consent, and ban the sale or sharing of youth information. It would also create a private right of action for parents or guardians, with statutory damages and other remedies, thereby increasing compliance obligations and potential liability for youth-serving organizations.
The bill appears to have received favorable and largely unanimous support in committee, with recorded votes of 15-0 and 12-0 and a recommendation for the consent calendar. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no direct record of debate, but the available voting history suggests broad agreement with the bill’s privacy protections for youth and their families.
The principal areas of potential contention are the breadth of the covered entities and the strict limits on using youth images, videos, audio, and statements for publicity or fundraising. Youth programs may object to the administrative burden of obtaining detailed, separate consent and tracking revocations, as well as the categorical ban on selling or sharing covered information. The private enforcement provision and up to $5,000 per-youth remedy could also be seen as a significant litigation risk, though the committee votes indicate these issues did not produce recorded opposition.