BILL NUMBER: S9174B
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to remote vehicle
technology and domestic violence victims
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation will protect survivors of domestic violence from poten-
tial stalking, harassment, and violence by allowing them to terminate an
abuser's access to their vehicle's tracking and remote technology.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one adds section 399-ccccc to the General Business Law.
Section two establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
After leaving a domestic violence situation, many survivors continue to
experience stalking, harassment, and threats of violence. As technology
has evolved, those tools have provided abusers new and startling ways to
monitor and harass survivors.
With the development of remote vehicle technology, cars can be started
and tracked and temperature settings can be adjusted from a cell phone
or computer. Survivors must now contend with a new form of harassment
and stalking. A New York Times piece from December 2023 included inter-
views with multiple survivors who experienced this, including a survivor
whose abuser stalked her using her car's GPS technology and a survivor
whose abuser harassed her by using her car's remote start technology.
Law enforcement has faced obstacles in protecting survivors from such
intrusions as access to this technology is often controlled by car
manufacturers. This legislation would require car manufacturers or deal-
ers to remove an abuser's access to remote vehicle technology when a
survivor makes the request and has proof of ownership, at no cost to the
survivor. This legislation also requires that this information be acces-
sible through the car manufacturer or dealer's website.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.