CCPA Now Used in Wiretapping Litigation, Attorneys Report
In-house counsel for consumer-facing digital businesses must act because plaintiffs are increasingly pairing CCPA claims with wiretapping allegations, creating expanded statutory damage exposure.
Recent reporting from Troutman Pepper Locke attorneys highlights a growing trend of plaintiffs leveraging the California Consumer Privacy Act’s private right of action and statutory damages provisions to support wiretapping claims, rather than relying exclusively on traditional state and federal wiretapping laws. This shift expands litigation risk for companies that collect user data via websites, apps, and other digital channels, as CCPA’s higher damage caps can lead to far larger payouts in these cases. In-house counsel should audit existing data collection and user consent workflows for CCPA compliance gaps that could be weaponized in these suits, and update litigation risk forecasting to account for this emerging claim strategy.