Help! I Was Served With A CIPA Lawsuit

Readers may recall our recent article discussing a new trend in California Invasion of Privacy Act ("CIPA") litigation in which enterprising plaintiffs' attorneys have brought CIPA allegations against companies that use tracking software on their websites. This latest wave of CIPA litigation focuses on CIPA's definition of "pen registers" and "trap and trace devices," devices that law enforcement has historically utilized to capture outgoing and incoming telecommunications signaling, respectively. With the evolution of technology, however, plaintiffs' attorneys now are claiming that certain tracking software that captures user interactions on business websites falls within CIPA's definition of what constitutes a "pen register" or "trap and trace device." Absent certain exceptions, including user consent and/or Privacy Policy disclosures, tracking software that could be construed as a "pen register" or "trap and trace device" may be actionable under CIPA. Against this