On September 24, 2016, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed A.B. 1687 – a measure aimed at preventing age discrimination against film, television, and other professionals in the entertainment industry whose ages could be viewed by casting directors and other potential employers.  As a result of this bill, industry professionals whose profiles are listed on commercial online entertainment employment service providers (IMDb.comPro and similar sites) can request to have their dates of birth and ages removed from the public’s purview.  Upon request, such service providers must remove subscribers’ dates of birth and ages from their online profiles within five days, and also ensure that companion websites under the service provider’s control do the same.  These new requirements only apply to service providers who have contractual relationships with subscribers who pay fees.

The bill will be codified as Civil Code section 1798.83.5, and currently contains no provision outlining any penalties for those in violation of the statute or recourse for those allegedly harmed.

Nonetheless, California-based commercial online entertainment employment service providers, as well as out-of-state providers who have California-based subscribers, should be prepared to promptly remove date of birth and age information from subscriber profiles upon request and to require other providers under their control to do the same.

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