A bill aimed at preventing “eavesdropping” by smart speakers, like Google Home and Amazon Alexa, passed a California Assembly committee last week, officials said Tuesday.

AB 1395, authored by Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, and co-sponsored by Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, would prohibit smart speaker manufacturers from storing, data mining or selling voice recordings collected through a smart speaker, according to the text of the bill.

“Recent revelations about how certain companies have staff that listens in to private conversations via connected smart speakers further shows why this bill is necessary to protect privacy in the home,” said Cunningham. “People shouldn’t have to sacrifice their private conversations in order to live in a modern home.”

The legislation would prohibit a smart speaker device from saving, storing or exchanging with third party recordings of verbal commands or requests given to the device, or verbal conversations heard by the device, regardless of whether the device was triggered using a key term or phrase.

AB 1395 is part of the  “Your Data Your Way” legislative package introduced by members of the Assembly, which includes a slate of privacy bills.

The package includes the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which former Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in June 2018.

Starting in 2020, the CCPA would empower residents to know what personal information about them is being collected; whether it’s being sold, disclosed and to whom; and give them the right to access that information.

Google, who makes a line of smart speakers, is “monitoring” the developing legislation, according to officials.

“We’ve long believed that a combination of balanced regulation, with products that are designed with privacy, will help create strong privacy protections for everyone,” said a Google spokesperson in a statement.

Amazon officials were not available for comment as of Tuesday afternoon.

The bill is expected to be heard in the Appropriations Committee before going to the Assembly floor for a vote.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.