Courts and States Move to Curb Website Tracking and ADA Suit Abuse
In-house counsel at companies operating consumer-facing websites and apps face a shifting landscape as federal courts, Missouri, and California push back on serial website litigation.
Three converging developments are reshaping exposure under website privacy and accessibility theories. A federal court in the Central District of California has declared serial CIPA plaintiff Vivek Shah a vexatious litigant, requiring pre-approval for further filings after 29 suits since 2021, though coordinated plaintiff firms continue to drive most CIPA docket volume. Missouri's Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation, effective August 28, 2026, lets defendants and the state AG countersue for 'abusive litigation' and shields good-faith remediation efforts, making documentation of accessibility work critical. California SB 690 would bar private Section 638.51 'trap-and-trace' claims against website and app operators, reserving enforcement to the AG and applying retroactively two years, but plaintiffs are expected to reframe conduct as wiretapping under unaffected CIPA provisions. Companies should audit tracking technologies, preserve accessibility remediation records, and reassess CIPA exposure assumptions.