A5635

An Act concerning wearable recording devices and supplementing P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

“Visual indicator” means a visual signal including, but not limited to, an illuminated light that indicates when a wearable recording device is capturing sound or video.

“Wearable recording device” means a device designed to be worn on or attached to the body that has the capability to make sound or video recordings or transmit data received by the device to another device, the Internet, or any cloud-based service. The term shall not include a “body worn camera,” as defined in section 1 of P.L.2020, c.129 (C.40A:14-118.5), or any similar device used by law enforcement in this State.

2. It shall be an unlawful practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) for any manufacturer of wearable recording devices to sell or offer for sale in this State a wearable recording device unless the device:

a. is equipped with a visual indicator that automatically activates whenever the device is capturing sound or video;

b. displays the visual indicator continuously for the duration of the time that device is capturing sound or video;

c. displays the visual indicator in a manner that is reasonably visible to an average person in the vicinity of an individual wearing the device; and

d. is designed so that the visual indicator cannot be disabled, altered, or otherwise circumvented while the device is capturing sound or video.

3. a. A person shall not knowingly tamper with, disable, deactivate, obstruct, alter, damage, or otherwise circumvent the visual indicator functionality of a wearable recording device for the purpose of preventing or impairing the visual indicator from operating as designed by the manufacturer pursuant to section 2 of this act.

b. A person who violates the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall be liable to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 for each violation, which shall be collected by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in a summary proceeding before a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). Each act that violates subsection a. of this section shall constitute a separate violation. The Superior Court and the municipal court, as appropriate, shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999.”

c. A violation of this section shall not be considered an unlawful practice in violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).

4. Nothing in this act shall be construed to limit, modify, expand, or supersede the provisions of P.L.2020, c.129 (C.40A:14-118.5 et seq.), or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

5. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act including, but not limited to, establishing standards to prevent visual indicators from being disabled, altered, or otherwise circumvented.

6. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, except that the provisions of section 5 of this act shall take effect immediately and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes certain manufacturing requirements and penalties concerning wearable recording devices.

Under the bill, the term “wearable recording device” is defined as a device designed to be worn on or attached to the body that has the capability to make sound or video recordings or transmit data received by the device to another device, the Internet, or any cloud-based service. The term does not include a body worn camera or any similar device used by law enforcement in this State.

The bill prohibits a manufacturer of wearable recording devices from selling or offering for sale in this State a wearable recording device unless the device: (1) is equipped with a visual indicator that automatically activates whenever the device is capturing sound or video; (2) displays the visual indicator continuously for the duration of the time that device is capturing sound or video; (3) displays the visual indicator in a manner that is reasonably visible to an average person in the vicinity of an individual wearing the device; and (4) is designed so that the visual indicator cannot be disabled, altered, or otherwise circumvented while the device is capturing sound or video.

Under the bill, a person is prohibited from knowingly tampering with, disabling, deactivating, obstructing, altering, damaging, or otherwise interfering with the normal operation or recording functionality of a wearable recording device for the purpose of preventing or impairing the visual indicator from operating as designed by the manufacturer pursuant to the provisions of this bill.

Additionally, a person who knowingly tampers with a wearable recording device’s visual indicator functionality is liable to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 for each violation. The civil penalty is to be collected by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in a civil action by a summary proceeding pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999.”

The provisions of this bill are not to be construed to limit, modify, expand, or supersede the provisions concerning the use of body worn cameras by law enforcement in this State or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

A manufacturer who violates the provisions of this bill is subject to penalties pursuant to the consumer fraud act, which is punishable by a monetary penalty of not more than $10,000 for a first offense and not more than $20,000 for any subsequent offense. In addition, violations may result in cease and desist orders issued by the Attorney General, the assessment of punitive damages, and the awarding of treble damages and costs to the injured party.