Makes it fourth degree crime to engage in certain tracking and location activities.
Impact
The passage of A3591 would significantly impact state laws regarding personal privacy and surveillance. By criminalizing unauthorized tracking, the law aims to deter stalkers and individuals from employing electronic means to invade another's privacy. The bill also seeks to provide clear guidelines on the acceptable use of tracking technologies, thereby creating a more secure environment for vulnerable populations, especially minors and individuals with health conditions.
Summary
Assembly Bill A3591 proposes to make it a fourth-degree crime to install or use electronic tracking devices or applications to monitor another person's location without consent, with the intention of facilitating an unlawful act. The law targets the growing concerns around privacy and unauthorized surveillance, providing a legal framework to address such issues. Under the bill, individuals caught using these technologies unlawfully could face up to 18 months imprisonment or fines up to $10,000.
Contention
Despite the bill's intent to protect privacy, there are notable points of contention. Critics may argue that it could hinder legitimate tracking cases, such as those involving parental monitoring of children or locations of vulnerable individuals. The exemptions provided, such as for parents and employers, may evoke debates about the balance between necessary oversight and potential invasions of privacy. The law also establishes that consent is invalidated under certain circumstances, which has raised questions about how this provision could complicate tracking relationships in family or employment structures.
Redefines the term "following" for a crime of stalking in the fourth degree to include the use of certain devices or computers to gain access to, record, track or report the movement or location of a person or their property without the person's permission or authority to do so.
Makes publishing on Internet home address or unpublished telephone number of judges, prosecutors and certain court personnel a crime of the fourth degree under certain circumstances.