Law / United States / 
Delaware
Delaware Online Privacy and Protection Act: privacy of book service users
Del. Code Ann. tit. 6, § 1206C
In force since .
A sensitive categories rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Consent, Reporting, Retention
- Audit expectation
- none
As of .
What it requires
- If you offer a book service to the public (a service whose primary purpose is to let individuals rent, purchase, borrow, browse or view books electronically or via the Internet), do not knowingly disclose a user's book service information to a government entity, except as the exceptions in section 1206C(a)(1) to (6) allow; a business that sells a variety of consumer products is not a book service provider if its book service sales do not exceed 2 percent of its total annual gross sales of consumer products sold in the United States.
- Do not disclose a user's book service information to any person, private entity or government entity where you are compelled to disclose it, except as the exceptions in section 1206C(a)(1) to (6) allow.
- The bars do not stop a disclosure to a person with the user's informed, affirmative consent in writing to the specific disclosure to the specific person for a particular purpose.
- The bars do not stop a disclosure to a law-enforcement entity by any lawful method or process by which the entity is permitted to obtain the information, on the entity's assertion of imminent danger of death or serious physical injury where there is insufficient time to obtain a court order (a criminal matter then needs a search warrant application within 48 hours, and an oral assertion needs a written statement of the facts within 48 hours), or where you in good faith believe the information is evidence directly related and relevant to a crime against you or the user.
- Disclose a user's book service information to a governmental entity other than a law-enforcement entity only under a court order, and only if the entity gave you timely, reasonable written notice of the proceeding and you hold the information until you have given the user timely, reasonable written notice and the user has had at least 35 days to appear and quash the order.
- Disclose it to a person who is not a governmental entity under a court order only in a pending action brought by or against that person, and only if the court finds a compelling interest and that the information cannot be obtained by less intrusive means, you received reasonable notice of the proceeding, and you hold the information until you have given the user notice and the user has had at least 35 days to appear and quash the order.
- On the written request of a law-enforcement entity, preserve records and other evidence of a user's book service information related to the use of a book or part of a book for 90 days, extended for a further 90 days on a renewed written request.
- Unless disclosure is specifically prohibited by law, prepare a report of the warrants, subpoenas and court orders and the consent-based requests you received, and the disclosures you made, from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year, with the counts the section lists; you need not prepare a report unless you disclosed book service information of more than 30 total users located in Delaware or whose location is unknown, and the reporting duty does not apply to information disclosed to a governmental entity by a book service provider serving a postsecondary educational institution when it is required to disclose the information in order to be reimbursed for the sale or rental of a book that a student purchased or rented using book vouchers or other financial aid subsidies for books.
- Make the report publicly available in an online, searchable format on your website by March 31 of each year; without a website, post it prominently on your premises or send it, on paper and electronically, to the Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice by that date.
- If you are a book service provider subject to section 1205C (you operate a commercial website, service or application that collects personally identifiable information about Delaware users), do one of the following on or before March 1 of each year: link to your latest report in the disclosure section of your privacy policy applicable to the book service, post the report on your website explaining how users' book service information and privacy issues are addressed, or state on your website that no report is available because you are exempt from the reporting requirement.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionNo
Penalty structure
Section 2522(b) of title 29 requires a court to order a person found to have committed a wilful violation, in a proceeding the Attorney General or the Director brings under section 2522(a), to pay the State a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each violation. Chapter 12C states no penalty of its own and names this subchapter for its enforcement in section 1203C.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 10,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Consumer Protection Unit of the Delaware Department of Justice, which has enforcement authority over the chapter and may investigate and prosecute violations in accordance with subchapter II of chapter 25 of title 29 (6 Del. C. section 1203C).
What this law does
A book service provider shall not knowingly disclose to any government entity, or be compelled to disclose to any person, private entity or government entity, any book service information about a user, except under the circumstances the section lists.
Book service information is information that identifies, relates to, describes or is associated with a particular user, a unique identifier or internet protocol address used to identify or be associated with a particular user or book, and information that relates to a user's access to or use of a book service or a book.
A book service is a service by which an entity, as its primary purpose, provides individuals with the ability to rent, purchase, borrow, browse or view books electronically or via the Internet. A book service provider is a commercial entity offering a book service to the public, except that a commercial entity that sells a variety of consumer products is not one if its book service sales do not exceed 2 percent of its total annual gross sales of consumer products sold in the United States.
A provider may disclose a user's book service information to a law-enforcement entity pursuant to any lawful method or process by which a law-enforcement entity is permitted to obtain such information. A provider may disclose a user's book service information to a person if the user has given informed, affirmative consent in writing to the specific disclosure to the specific person for a particular purpose.
A provider may disclose a user's book service information to a person who is not a governmental entity only pursuant to a court order in a pending action brought by or against the person, and only if the conditions the section lists are met. A provider may disclose a user's book service information to a governmental entity other than a law-enforcement entity only pursuant to a court order, and only if the conditions the section lists are met.
A provider must, on the written request of a law-enforcement entity, preserve records and other evidence of a user's book service information for 90 days, extended for a further 90 days on a renewed written request. Reasonable reliance by a provider on a warrant or court order, or on any of the enumerated exceptions, is a complete defense to any action for a violation of the section.
Unless disclosure is specifically prohibited by law, a provider must prepare a report of the demands and requests it received, and the disclosures it made, in the previous calendar year. A provider is not required to prepare that report unless it has disclosed book service information of more than 30 total users located in Delaware or whose location is unknown and cannot be determined.
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