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"
If your company uses a third-party tool to power your website chat function or AI-assisted customer service, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just delivered a ruling you should know about. On July 9, the court affirmed...more
Readers of this blog may recall a piece in which we discussed an unfavorable Ninth Circuit California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) internet wiretapping decision. Interestingly, the Ninth Circuit recently weighed in again...more
A California bill aimed at curbing the explosion of lawsuits filed against businesses using common website tools like cookies, pixels, and session replay software has stalled out in the 2025 legislative session, meaning your...more
Readers of this blog are aware of the barrage of California Invasion of Privacy (“CIPA”) claims brought against online companies. Recently, an unfavorable decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Ninth Circuit”)...more
On April 29, 2025, the Senate Public Safety Committee voted 6-0 to advance legislation that would exempt processing of personal information for a commercial business purpose from coverage by the California Invasion of Privacy...more
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
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
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
An oft-discussed topic on this blog is the rise in lawsuits asserting illegal wiretapping claims against companies that use technology on their websites to track consumer interactions. Recently, a Pennsylvania federal judge...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
It is hard to believe that we are starting the 25th year of the 21st century. The rapid evolution that technology, privacy and data security have undergone these last 25 years is mindbending. Yet, as we enter 2025, it still...more
Some businesses might be surprised to learn that digital wiretapping litigation claims are one of today’s fastest-growing compliance risks, with over 1,560 lawsuits filed in 28 states since a groundbreaking 2022 decision...more
Readers of this blog may recall a recent favorable decision handed down by Massachusetts State’s highest court in which it found that Massachusetts Wiretap Act claims (“MWA”) do not extend to consumer interactions with...more
Welcome to the nineteenth 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. We are covering...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
Many people are thinking of holiday cookies at this time of year, but your favorite privacy lawyers are still thinking more about the non-delicious kind: those enabling common features on websites and online services. That’s...more
Massachusetts’ highest court recently issued an opinion that delves into the complex intersection of privacy law and modern technology. The case centers around whether the collection and transmission of users’ web browsing...more
Publications & Advisories - November 2024 – Kathleen Benway, Jennifer Everett, Alysa Austin, and Kristen Bartolotta published “Federal Trade Commission’s Updated Health Breach Notification Rule Is Now in Effect” in Employee...more
In a critical new decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has confirmed that the state’s anti-wiretapping statute does not extend to website tracking technologies. In Vita v. New England Baptist Hospital, the Court...more
October has offered valuable insights for companies managing privacy obligations related to user tracking, with courts issuing opinions on various wiretap laws and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) in the context of...more
Over the past decade, businesses and institutions with public-facing websites have increasingly turned to internet tracking technologies, such as cookies, pixels, and session replay tools, to optimize their websites and offer...more
Keypoint: Massachusetts’ highest court ruled the use of software that tracks users’ activity on its website does not violate the state’s Wiretap Act, which was intended to prevent the recording or interception of...more
Readers of this blog are aware of the surge in consumer privacy lawsuits alleging that the use of third-party tracking technology to collect consumer data while visiting a website constitutes illegal wiretapping. While most...more