Bill Text: NY A08994 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Enacts "Detective Brian Simonsen's Law"; requires wireless communication method service providers disable services to stolen wireless phones.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-23 - REFERRED TO CODES [A08994 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08994-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8994--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 1, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. PAULIN, GLICK, FAHY, WILLIAMS, STIRPE, SHIMSKY,
          WOERNER, BURDICK, SLATER, BEEPHAN,  DeSTEFANO,  McDONOUGH,  TANNOUSIS,
          REILLY  -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs
          and  Protection  --  committee  discharged,  bill   amended,   ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring wire-
          less communication method service providers disable services to stolen
          wireless phones

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "Detective Brian Simonsen's Law".
     3    §  2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399-
     4  eee to read as follows:
     5    § 399-eee. Disabling of services to stolen wireless phones. 1.   Defi-
     6  nitions.  For  purposes  of this section, the following terms shall have
     7  the following meanings:
     8    (a) "International mobile equipment identifier (IMEI)" shall mean:
     9    (i) a mobile equipment identifier;
    10    (ii) electronic serial number; or
    11    (iii) any other number or signal that:
    12    (A) identifies a unique mobile wireless phone; and
    13    (B) has the same function  and  purposes  as  a  number  described  in
    14  subparagraph (i) or (ii) of this paragraph.
    15    (b) "GSMA block list" means an industry database that relies on infor-
    16  mation  reported  by  at  least  fifty  commercial  mobile operators, is
    17  subject to access controls, is certified to  the  ISO/IEC  27001  or  an
    18  equivalent  standard  for  information  security management systems, and
    19  provides publicly available information to  enable  sellers,  consumers,
    20  and  law  enforcement  to  check  an IMEI against lists of mobile device
    21  equipment identification numbers to help prevent the use  or  activation
    22  of mobile phones identified as stolen or fraudulently obtained.
    23    2. Limiting wireless service to stolen phones. Any person, firm, part-
    24  nership,  association,  limited liability company, corporation, or other

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11814-04-4
        A. 8994--A                          2

     1  business entity providing wireless telephone services, as such  term  is
     2  defined  in  paragraph  (b) of subdivision one of section twelve hundred
     3  twenty-five-c of the vehicle and traffic law, shall have and maintain  a
     4  program  reasonably designed to prevent the activation on its network of
     5  a phone with an international mobile equipment  identity  number  (IMEI)
     6  that appears on the GSMA block list.
     7    3. Reporting of stolen wireless phones. Any person, firm, partnership,
     8  association,  limited  liability company, corporation, or other business
     9  entity providing wireless telephone services, as such term is defined in
    10  paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section twelve hundred twenty-five-c
    11  of the vehicle and traffic law, who is informed by a retail store opera-
    12  tor of the theft of  new,  non-activated  wireless  phones,  shall  take
    13  reasonable  steps  to  report the IMEI numbers of those stolen phones to
    14  the GSMA block list.
    15    4. Disabling of service to stolen wireless phone.  Any  person,  firm,
    16  partnership,  association,  limited  liability  company, corporation, or
    17  other business entity providing wireless  telephone  services,  as  such
    18  term  is  defined  in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section twelve
    19  hundred twenty-five-c of the vehicle and traffic  law,  shall  have  and
    20  maintain  a  program reasonably designed to enable it to suspend service
    21  to a stolen wireless phone upon notification by a verified customer that
    22  a wireless phone has been stolen. Such program shall require the  person
    23  or business entity providing wireless telephone services take reasonable
    24  steps  to  report the IMEI numbers of the stolen phone to the GSMA block
    25  list.
    26    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    27  have become a law.