California Assembly Committee Advances CIPA Reform

On July 1, 2026, the California Assembly’s Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection passed SB 690, a bill that would amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) to cut off the flood of litigation that has hit companies across industries for the last several years.

By way of background, dozens of states have passed comprehensive privacy laws to regulate website cookies and pixels. Despite that, plaintiffs have increasingly turned to wiretapping and pen register laws like CIPA—statutes never designed for online tracking—to bring thousands of lawsuits and arbitrations in recent years. Indeed, some pro se plaintiffs and firms appear to be sending thousands of demand letters a week, with courts expressing concern that it is approaching vexatious conduct.