Personal identifying information: unlawful use: business entity filings.

Existing law provides that every person who willfully obtains personal identifying information, as defined, of another person without the authorization of that person, and uses that information for any unlawful purpose in the name of the other person without the consent of that person is guilty of a public offense. Existing law further provides that a person who learns or reasonably suspects that his or her personal identifying information has been used by another to commit a crime may initiate a law enforcement investigation by contacting the local law enforcement agency. Under existing law, the law enforcement agency must take a police report of the matter and provide the complainant with a copy of that report. This bill would authorize a person who has learned or reasonably suspects that his or her personal identifying information has been used unlawfully in a business entity filing, as defined, and has obtained the police report described above, to petition a court for a determination of unlawful use of his or her personal identifying information in the filing. Upon making that determination, the bill would require the court to order that the name and personal identifying information in the business entity filing be redacted or labeled to show the data is impersonated and to order the removal of, or label, the personal identifying information from publicly accessible electronic indexes and databases. The bill would require the Judicial Council to develop a form for issuing that order and would require that the order be filed with the Secretary of State.