S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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9267
I N S E N A T E
February 19, 2026
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Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to enacting the
"consumer camera privacy act"
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the "consumer camera privacy act".
§ 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 390-f
to read as follows:
§ 390-F. NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICES; COORDINATED SURVEILLANCE FEATURES.
1. DEFINITIONS. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS
SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
(A) "NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE" MEANS ANY INTERNET-CONNECTED DEVICE SOLD
TO CONSUMERS THAT CAPTURES VIDEO OR STILL IMAGES OF PERSONS OR PROPERTY,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO VIDEO DOORBELLS, SECURITY CAMERAS, AND
SIMILAR DEVICES.
(B) "COORDINATED SURVEILLANCE FEATURE" MEANS ANY FUNCTION OF A
NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE THAT TRANSMITS, SHARES, POOLS, OR MAKES VIDEO
FOOTAGE OR DERIVATIVE DATA ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS OTHER THAN THE OWNER OF
SUCH NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NETWORKED
SEARCH FUNCTIONS, CROWDSOURCED TRACKING SYSTEMS, BIOMETRIC ANALYSIS, AND
COMMUNITY ALERT FEATURES.
(C) "BIOMETRIC ANALYSIS" MEANS THE USE OF AUTOMATED SYSTEMS TO IDENTI-
FY, TRACK, OR CATEGORIZE INDIVIDUALS BASED ON PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO FACIAL GEOMETRY, GAIT, OR VOICE.
(D) "DEFAULT SETTING" MEANS ANY CONFIGURATION OF A NETWORKED CAMERA
DEVICE THAT IS ACTIVE UPON INITIAL SETUP WITHOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BY
THE OWNER OF SUCH DEVICE.
(E) "MANUFACTURER OR OPERATOR" MEANS A PERSON OR ENTITY THAT:
(I) MANUFACTURES A NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE; AND/OR
(II) PROVIDES DIGITAL SERVICES TO OWNERS OF INTERNET-CONNECTED
NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ACCESSING
RECORDED VIDEO FOOTAGE OR STILL IMAGES THAT ARE SAVED ON A REMOTE SERV-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14888-01-6
S. 9267 2
ER, REMOTE ACCESS TO LIVE VIDEO FOOTAGE, OR ACCESS TO OTHER FEATURES OF
SUCH NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICES.
(F) "OWNER" MEANS THE OWNER OF A NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE.
2. PROHIBITED PRACTICES. NO MANUFACTURER OR OPERATOR OF A NETWORKED
CAMERA DEVICE SHALL:
(A) ENABLE ANY COORDINATED SURVEILLANCE FEATURE AS A DEFAULT SETTING;
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH COORDINATED SURVEILLANCE FEATURES MAY BE
OFFERED ONLY UPON THE OWNER'S AFFIRMATIVE OPT-IN CONSENT, OBTAINED SEPA-
RATELY FROM GENERAL TERMS OF SERVICE;
(B) USE FOOTAGE CAPTURED BY AN OWNER'S NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE FOR
ALGORITHM TRAINING, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, OR ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN
PROVIDING SERVICES DIRECTLY REQUESTED BY SUCH OWNER, WITHOUT SEPARATE
AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT;
(C) RETAIN FOOTAGE CAPTURED BY A NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE THAT HAS NOT
BEEN ACTIVATED WITH A PAID SUBSCRIPTION OR AFFIRMATIVE OWNER SETUP FOR
MORE THAN SEVENTY-TWO HOURS, UNLESS SUCH OWNER AFFIRMATIVELY ELECTS
LONGER RETENTION; OR
(D) CONDITION BASIC NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE FUNCTIONALITY ON OWNER
PARTICIPATION IN ANY COORDINATED SURVEILLANCE FEATURE.
3. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. (A) AT THE POINT OF SALE OF ANY NETWORKED
CAMERA DEVICE, THE FOLLOWING DISCLOSURES SHALL BE DISPLAYED PROMINENTLY
AND SEPARATELY FROM OTHER PRODUCT INFORMATION REGARDING SUCH NETWORKED
CAMERA DEVICE:
(I) WHETHER SUCH NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE RECORDS TO LOCAL STORAGE,
REMOTE SERVER STORAGE, OR BOTH;
(II) WHETHER ANY FOOTAGE IS TRANSMITTED TO THE MANUFACTURER OR OPERA-
TOR, OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES, ABSENT OWNER ACTION;
(III) WHETHER ANY COORDINATED SURVEILLANCE FEATURE IS INCLUDED AND, IF
SO, SUCH COORDINATED SURVEILLANCE FEATURE'S DEFAULT STATUS; AND
(IV) SUCH NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE'S DATA RETENTION PRACTICES.
(B) UPON INITIAL SETUP OF A NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE, THE MANUFACTURER
OR OPERATOR SHALL PRESENT THE CONSUMER WITH A PLAIN-LANGUAGE SUMMARY OF
DATA COLLECTION PRACTICES BEFORE ANY RECORDING FUNCTION IS ENABLED ON
SUCH NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE.
4. OWNER DATA RIGHTS. (A) UPON REQUEST, A MANUFACTURER OR OPERATOR
SHALL PROVIDE THE OWNER WITH ALL FOOTAGE CAPTURED BY SUCH OWNER'S
NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE WITHIN SEVENTY-TWO HOURS, REGARDLESS OF
SUBSCRIPTION STATUS, IN A COMMONLY USED ELECTRONIC FORMAT.
(B) UPON REQUEST, A MANUFACTURER OR OPERATOR SHALL DELETE ALL FOOTAGE
AND DERIVATIVE DATA ASSOCIATED WITH AN OWNER'S NETWORKED CAMERA DEVICE
WITHIN THIRTY DAYS.
(C) AN OWNER MAY REVOKE CONSENT TO ANY COORDINATED SURVEILLANCE
FEATURE AT ANY TIME, AND SUCH REVOCATION SHALL TAKE EFFECT WITHIN TWEN-
TY-FOUR HOURS.
5. LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESS. (A) NO FOOTAGE FROM A COORDINATED SURVEIL-
LANCE FEATURE SHALL BE DISCLOSED TO ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY EXCEPT
PURSUANT TO A WARRANT ISSUED UPON PROBABLE CAUSE OR THE NETWORKED CAMERA
DEVICE'S OWNER'S VOLUNTARY AND INFORMED CONSENT GIVEN IN RESPONSE TO A
SPECIFIC REQUEST.
(B) MANUFACTURERS AND OPERATORS SHALL PUBLISH ANNUAL TRANSPARENCY
REPORTS DETAILING THE NUMBER OF LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUESTS RECEIVED, THE
NUMBER COMPLIED WITH, AND THE LEGAL PROCESS RELIED UPON.
6. ENFORCEMENT. (A) THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY BRING AN ACTION TO ENJOIN
VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION AND TO OBTAIN CIVIL PENALTIES OF UP TO TEN
THOUSAND DOLLARS PER VIOLATION, OR UP TO TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS
PER VIOLATION WHERE SUCH VIOLATION WAS WILLFUL.
S. 9267 3
(B) ANY PERSON INJURED BY A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION MAY BRING A
CIVIL ACTION TO RECOVER ACTUAL DAMAGES OR FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER
VIOLATION, WHICHEVER IS GREATER, PLUS REASONABLE ATTORNEY'S FEES AND
COSTS.
§ 3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of
any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on
its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before
such effective date.
