Legal Alert | Wiretap Laws in the United States
Anti-Wiretap Class Actions Against Website Operators Surge, but Proper Consent Can Reduce Risk
Webinar Recording – Assessing the Surge in Wiretap Litigation
Is Edward Snowden a Whistleblower?
Rajaratnam Judge: Wiretaps in Insider Trading Cases are "Radical"
Keypoint: In this post: (1) The Ninth Circuit holds essentially any website can be sued in California; (2) two courts limit pen registry claims; (3) courts split on whether privacy policies establish consent for wiretapping...more
California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) wiretapping claims against online businesses are topics with which our readers are well-versed. Inconsistent court decisions about whether wiretapping claims under CIPA apply to 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
In late March, an online retailer successfully asserted consent as a complete defense to a putative Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act of 1978 (WESCA) class action lawsuit, resulting in the...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
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 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
We continue to learn more about the courts’ perspective on claims under the California Information Privacy Act (“CIPA”). Last month, in Moody v. C2 Educational Systems Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Central District of...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
Keypoint: Two California state court decisions have addressed motions to dismiss claims under the novel “pen registry” and “tap and trace” theories, but reached different outcomes after finding different policy considerations...more
Keypoint: Courts resolved six motions to dismiss wiretapping claims based on session replay technology in January, while two VPPA decisions highlight balance struck by courts. A new privacy litigation theory based on “pen...more
Knowing how consumers behave while on a website can provide businesses with valuable information. Frequently businesses employ “session replay” tools to analyze what users do on their website. “Session replay” is software...more
Keypoint: In July 2023, plaintiffs have been busy opposing motions to dismiss in chat wiretapping, session replay, and VPPA cases while testing claims against a new technology....more
The pace of internet consumer privacy class action litigation is skyrocketing. Remarkably, no specific legislative change in the law triggered the increase in litigation. Instead, the driver of this litigation explosion — in...more
Keypoint: In the wake of a recent California decision that allowed claims alleging use of chat functionality on website violated California wiretapping laws, three California district courts have dismissed nearly identical...more
Website session replay technology continues to fuel class action litigation alleging violations of anti-wiretap laws in all-party consent states. In 2021, we issued an alert highlighting that session replay lawsuits were...more
The case of Popa v. Harriet Carter Gifts, Inc. “began with a quest for pet stairs.” Plaintiff Ashley Popa searched Harriet Carter Gifts’ website, added pet stairs to her cart, but never completed the purchase. During her...more
Retailers, financial services firms, and many other companies utilize third party session replay software to maintain a record of interactions with visitors to their websites for a variety of useful purposes, including to...more
In a class action with potentially significant impact on data sharing disclosures that companies routinely provide in online privacy policies, the Third Circuit recently ruled that NaviStone, a third party marketing service,...more