In-vehicle cameras.

Existing law prohibits a person or entity from providing the operation of a voice recognition feature within this state without prominently informing, during the initial setup or installation of a connected television, either the user or the person designated by the user to perform the initial setup or installation of the connected television. Existing law further prohibits any actual recordings of spoken word collected through the operation of a voice recognition feature by the manufacturer of a connected television, or a third party contracting with a manufacturer of a connected television, from being sold or used for any advertising purpose. Existing law prohibits a person or entity from compelling a manufacturer or other entity providing the operation of a voice recognition feature to build specific features for the purpose of allowing an investigative or law enforcement officer to monitor communications through that feature. Existing law prohibits a waiver of these prohibitions and authorizes their enforcement by injunction or civil penalty in a court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or a district attorney. This bill would require a manufacturer of a new motor vehicle that is equipped with one or more in-vehicle cameras to disclose that fact, as specified. The bill would prohibit a dealer, as defined, from providing for the sale or lease of a new motor vehicle with one or more in-vehicle cameras in this state without prominently informing the user or the person designated by the user to purchase the vehicle, as specified, and would grant the buyer or lessee of a vehicle the right to review the owner's manual or any other document, if any is provided by the manufacturer, prior to purchase to determine if an in-vehicle camera exists. This bill would further prohibit any images or video recordings collected through the operation of an in-vehicle camera from being used for any advertising purpose or being sold to any third party. The bill would also prohibit these images or video recordings from being shared with third parties, except as provided. The bill would also prohibit any recording obtained through operation of an in-vehicle camera from being retained at any location other than the vehicle itself, or being downloaded, retrieved, or otherwise accessed by a person or entity other than the user, as defined, without affirmative prior consent, as defined, or unless the images and videos are accessed to diagnose, service, repair, or improve specified equipment and systems, except as provided. The bill would require a person or entity that provides the operation of an in-vehicle camera in this state to provide effective mechanisms for a consumer to revoke consent. The bill would provide an exception to the above prohibitions to comply with a lawful subpoena, court order, search warrant, or preservation request, as specified. The bill would prohibit a person or entity from compelling a manufacturer or other entity providing the operation of an in-vehicle camera to build specific features for the purpose of allowing an investigative or law enforcement officer to monitor images through that feature. This bill would prohibit a waiver of the above protections, and would authorize their enforcement by injunction or civil penalty in a court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or a district attorney. The bill would specify that those provisions do not apply to cameras installed in vehicles that are primarily for commercial use, as specified, and do not reduce the rights afforded to a consumer or the obligations imposed on a business under any applicable state or federal law, and that in the case of a conflict between these provisions and any other law, the law providing for the greater protection for the right of privacy for consumers controls.