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In our piece immediately preceding this one, we briefly discussed revived legislation aimed at curtailing the unintended reach of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”). Herein, we discuss in detail the proposed legislation, recent amendments to the bill designed to change CIPA’s laws, and the effects that the proposed legislation would have on the breadth of CIPA, if enacted.
CIPA Law Aimed at Curtailing Abusive Litigation
Initially introduced in early 2025, Senate Bill 690 (“SB 690”) seeks to amend the CIPA law which originally was enacted to prohibit: (1) unlawful government and law enforcement surveillance; and (2) recording communications without the consent of all parties. While CIPA was devised with good intentions, in recent years, the plaintiffs’ bar has weaponized the law to claim that it applies to internet tracking technologies utilized by virtually every website in today’s eCommerce industry. Against this backdrop, SB 690 aims to curb the rise in litigation surrounding CIPA and its application to website tracking tools. As amended, SB 690 proposes exempting website tracking software used for a “commercial business purpose” from CIPA’s law prohibiting the use of pen registers (“PR”) and trap and trace (“TT”) devices. The current version of CIPA prohibiting PR/TT devices allows for a private right of action and the recovery of $5,000 in statutory damages for each violation. If the amended version of SB 690 ultimately becomes law, there would no longer be any private right of action for violations of CIPA’s PR/TT law, and only the California Attorney General would have the authority to bring PR/TT-related claims. Critically, SB 690 contains a two-year retroactive provision which the bill’s sponsor explained was included because of the influx of lawsuits filed after the bill was first introduced “to get in before the deadline.”
What Does This Mean for Future CIPA Claims?
As our readers know, there has been a significant increase in litigation alleging violations of CIPA’s wiretapping laws where third-party tracking tools capture consumer interactions during website visits. Not only did SB 690 apply to PR/TT devices when it first was introduced, it also proposed exempting from CIPA’s reach website tracking technology used for a commercial business purpose. Unfortunately, the current iteration of SB 690 only applies to CIPA’s PR/TT laws and would do nothing to stem the tide of third-party tracking wiretapping claims.
CIPA and other consumer data privacy laws continue to be fertile ground for the plaintiffs’ bar. The experienced attorneys at Klein Moynihan Turco (“KMT”) have assisted numerous companies with CIPA and other consumer data regulatory compliance matters. In addition, the KMT litigation team has successfully defended many businesses in CIPA website tracking lawsuits and federal and state regulatory proceedings. If your company employs third-party tracking software or has been served with a CIPA-related claim, please email us at info@kleinmoynihan.com or call us at (212) 246-0900.
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