The ‘Long Arm’ of CIPA and Its Newfound Pen-Trap Claims
Introduction - The intersection of digital customer service tools and privacy law continues to generate high-stakes litigation, especially in California, where the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) has become a...more
Websites are ubiquitous, and so are cookies and tracking pixels (a/k/a web beacons). A web browser uses cookies to store login details and preferences; the cookies also track and profile user behavior. When visiting a...more
Healthline Media has agreed to pay $1.55 million to resolve allegations that it violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) – which is the largest settlement to date under the state’s landmark privacy law. The...more
A new lawsuit just filed against an AI software provider offers a clear warning for any business using artificial intelligence to monitor or record customer service calls. On June 13, a California plaintiff filed a federal...more
Courts across the country are becoming skeptical of data breach and web tracking claims that assert theoretical privacy violations without alleging any actual injury to the plaintiffs. Recent decisions underscore that courts...more
In a big win for businesses, a California federal court just held that a “tester” plaintiff – someone who visits websites for purposes of initiating litigation – cannot bring a claim under the California Invasion of Privacy...more
Keypoint: In this post: (1) California considers a “commercial exception” to wiretapping and pen registry laws; (2) a rise in federal wiretapping claims against websites; (3) more courts impose “knowledge or intent”...more
Keypoint: In this post: (1) How a privacy policy can defeat a plaintiff’s “delayed discovery” argument; (2) Two CA state courts reject plaintiffs’ allegations concerning personal jurisdiction; (3) Three courts dismiss PR/TT...more
Generative AI continued to be a hot topic for privacy-related litigation in 2024. In the US, companies using and deploying this technology saw themselves subject to lawsuits under various state and federal theories of...more
On February 18, 2025, US District Judge Edgardo Ramos of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss against a plaintiff bringing claims under California...more
Welcome to the twentieth installment in our monthly data privacy litigation report. We prepare these reports to provide updates on how courts in the United States have handled emerging data privacy trends. After our expansive...more
Two recent court decisions have provided businesses with long-awaited clarity on the reach of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) – and could begin to redefine digital privacy litigation for the better. Two separate...more
A California federal district court recently granted class certification in a lawsuit against a financial services company. The case involves allegations that the company’s website used third-party technology to track users’...more
In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind decision, a California federal court just granted class certification in a wiretapping claim brought against a website operator that used third-party technology to track users’...more
Keypoint: California state courts weigh in on what does, and does not, qualify as a “pen registry” or “tap and trace” device while one California federal court raises whether a wiretapping claim can also allow for a CCPA...more
Keypoint: California district courts continue to split over whether “knowledge” is required to plead liability under Section 631(a)’s fourth prong while two decisions show courts taking different approaches to VPPA claims at...more
Data privacy-related lawsuits have skyrocketed in recent years. Federal courts saw over 900 data privacy dockets in 2020 – but witnessed a surge to 1,767 dockets in 2023. At the halfway point in 2024, federal court data...more
Keypoint: The Central District of California issued several wiretapping decisions in May while two decisions on the VPPA illustrate how claims fail or succeed at the pleading stage. Welcome to the fourteenth installment in...more
Keypoint: The Central District of California issues a major victory for website owners facing CIPA-arbitration demands, two decisions address whether a plaintiff consented as a defense to wiretapping claims, three courts in...more
Does your company use tracking or session replay software to understand how users interact with your website? If so, you may be the next target of a new wave of class actions sweeping across Florida and California. The...more
In a proposed class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Google is facing a potential $5 billion class action for alleged privacy law violations. The complaint alleges that...more
A case pending against Facebook in California is heading back to the Federal District Court for further litigation on the merits. On April 9, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled on plaintiffs’ claims against...more