California Legislature, Court Shake Up Website Privacy Suits
California's legislature has passed a bill to eliminate private 'pen register' claims over website tracking, while an appellate court offers a mixed, tentative ruling on the scope of the law.
The landscape for high-stakes class actions over website tracking technologies is shifting in California. The state legislature on August 28 passed SB 690, which would eliminate the private right of action under the California Invasion of Privacy Act’s (CIPA) “pen register” and “trap and trace” provisions, leaving enforcement solely to the Attorney General. The bill, which awaits the governor's signature, would apply retroactively and could end numerous pending lawsuits.
Compounding the issue, a California Court of Appeal issued a tentative ruling in Variety Media v. Superior Court. It found that CIPA's pen-register rules can apply to modern internet tools, a potential loss for defendants. However, the court also held that merely collecting a user’s IP address does not state a claim because it identifies the communication's source, not its destination. Sophisticated clients and counsel care because these developments directly impact the viability of a major litigation trend. The key next steps are to watch for the governor's decision on SB 690 and the finalization of the Variety Media ruling, as CIPA litigation risk remains under other theories.