N.Y. General Business Law § 390-c*2: Posting of warnings by commercial entities offering internet access to the public

* § 390-c. Posting of warnings by commercial entities offering

internet access to the public. 1. For the purposes of this section, the

following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Commercial entity" shall mean any entity doing business in New

York state that: (i) for profit, offers goods or services for sale; (ii)

stores personal information electronically; (iii) owns or operates a

wireless network, or local area network; and (iv) offers public internet

access whether for a fee or free of charge.

(b) "Local area network" shall mean a data communications system which

interconnects computer systems at various local sites via access line or

wire.

(c) "Firewall" shall mean a hardware device, software program or a

combination of the two that protects a computer network from

unauthorized access.

(d) "Public internet access" shall mean the ability of a person to log

onto the internet at a location other than that person's home, through

the use of a computer either owned by such person or provided to them by

another person or commercial entity, for the purpose of accessing the

internet.

(e) "Wireless network" shall mean a data communications system which

interconnects computer systems at various local sites via radio signal.

2. Any commercial entity that offers the public the ability to use

their computer for internet access shall conspicuously post a warning

sign in their establishment and/or on the wireless network at a point in

time prior to enabling the public to log on or gain access to the

network. Such warning sign shall state that "For the purposes of your

own protection and privacy, you are advised to install a firewall or

other computer security measures when accessing the internet". Such sign

shall include the internet address of the website created under

subdivision three of this section.

3. The department of state shall establish an internet security

website or webpage, that includes, but is not limited to, an explanation

of what a firewall is and the importance of other internet security

measures.

4. Any commercial entity that violates this section shall be subject

to a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for the first

violation, not more than two hundred fifty dollars for the second

violation, and not more than five hundred dollars for each violation

thereafter. The provisions of subdivision two of this section may be

enforced concurrently by the director of a municipal consumer affairs

office, or by the town attorney, city corporation counsel, or other

lawful designee of a municipality or local government, and all moneys

collected thereunder shall be retained by such municipality or local

government.

* NB There are 2 § 390-c's