Senate Bill S5338

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5338

SPONSOR: FAHY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to transferring
control of a defendant's connected devices in a family offense proceed-
ing

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To permit courts to transfer the control of an electronic device to
prevent electronic stalking by a family or household member.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Criminal Procedure Law § 530.12(8) by adding a new
paragraph (C) to permit the court to order a defendant in a family court
proceeding to turn control of an electronic device over to another
person or to have the device disabled by the manufacturer.

Section 2 provides an effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Of the nearly 3.5 million stalking victims in the US in 2019, 80% expe-
rienced cyberstalking. Intimate partners are more likely to be spied
upon or monitored by electronic devices, such as cell phones or GPS
systems, than other stalking victims. Domestic abusers can use their
access to home electronic systems to turn lights off and on, turn the
heat up or down or otherwise harass their partners from a distance. If a
stalking victim is not the owner of title on the car they drive, car
companies will not disable the GPS system to prevent their abuser from
tracking them. This bill permits courts to order domestic stalkers to
either turn over the control of an electronic device to a family or
household member or have the device turned off by the manufacturer.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023 - 2024: A10067

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.