The ‘Long Arm’ of CIPA and Its Newfound Pen-Trap Claims
It has been amply documented how the California Plaintiffs’ Bar has exploited the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”)–explicitly designed during the Cold War to address telephonic wiretapping and eavesdropping—to...more
When we speak to clients about online privacy issues, they almost always mention the CCPA – California’s Consumer Privacy Act that regulates the collection and use of personal data. But unless they have already faced a...more
In the wake of an explosion in digital privacy litigation, courts and legislatures are redrawing some of the boundaries of what qualifies as unlawful data collection under decades-old statutes. Claims brought under...more
Readers of this blog are well aware of the proliferation of lawsuits alleging that websites which utilize Meta Pixel tracking software violate the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”). These lawsuits typically allege...more
In a significant win for the defense, a California federal judge denied class certification in a California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) suit alleging that AddShoppers and Peet’s Coffee unlawfully tracked website visitors...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
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued a pivotal ruling that is likely to reshape privacy litigation for e-commerce platforms. In Briskin v. Shopify, Inc., the Court held that Shopify, despite being...more
In a significant decision for privacy class action litigation, a federal judge in California recently denied the certification of a proposed class action involving claims under the state’s invasion of privacy law. The May 29...more
Online businesses are increasingly facing a wave of arbitration demands under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) and similar laws. Enterprising law firms have been at the forefront of this trend, filing claims on...more
Businesses just received some good news when a federal court dismissed a California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) claim that aimed to expand the reach of the state’s wiretapping law to cover internet communications. The...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
As the privacy litigation landscape continues to take shape, search bars have quietly become a Trojan horse in online data collection, carrying new legal theories into the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) arena. The...more
If you are “tester” who actively seeks out privacy violations and files lawsuits to ensure legal compliance (as many class action lawsuit plaintiffs are), you do NOT have Article III standing to sue, according to a recent...more
Privacy litigation has taken California (and the country) by storm. In the past twenty-four months, the focus of privacy litigation has shifted from data breaches to data use, and the number of class actions filed grows by...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
As the debate simmers about the proper application of the wiretapping provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), courts continue to weigh in on what technologies may constitute improper third-party...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
Despite some favorable rulings, lawsuits alleging California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) claims against companies that use third-party tracking technology to collect consumer data on their websites show no signs of...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
Readers of this blog are aware of the never-ending stream of lawsuits alleging that the use of third-party tracking technology to collect consumer data on company websites is tantamount to illegal wiretapping in violation of...more
The California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) and the Massachusetts Wiretap Act (“MWA”) are state statutes which prohibit the unlawful recording of communications. As our readers can guess, CIPA and MWA originally were...more
Over the past year, lawsuits under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) have gained significant momentum, and there’s no sign of them slowing down. Both state and federal courts in California are seeing a rise in...more
The surge in consumer privacy claims alleging that the use of third-party tracking technology on websites violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) is a topic with which our readers are very familiar. Now, the...more
Those tracking CIPA litigation are familiar with the recent decision holding in favor of a company whose site had an online chat operated by a vendor. The court in that case held (1) that the company had not violated the...more