CIPA Privacy Law Reform: A Step In The Right Direction

Executive Summary

• What’s new: On September 30, 2026, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 690, which amends the California Invasion of Privacy Act of 1967 (CIPA). The amendment removes the private right of action for purported website and app-based violations of CIPA § 638.51 (the pen register and trap-and-trace provision) and applies retroactively to any claim commenced within the prior two years.
• Why it matters: In recent years, plaintiffs’ firms have pivoted to pen register and trap-and-trace claims under CIPA, alleging that a website’s mere use of commonplace internet technologies violates the statute. Senate Bill 690 shuts down these attempts to apply CIPA § 638.51 in ways that were never intended.