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ARTICLE · 28 OCTOBER 2025

"The Language Of CIPA Is A Total Mess"

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
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Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

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A recent Northern District of California decision stated what we've all known for awhile: "The language of CIPA is a total mess."...

United StatesTechnology

A recent Northern District of California decision stated what we've all known for awhile: "The language of CIPA is a total mess." Doe v. Eating Recovery Center LLC, 2025 WL 2971090 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 17, 2025).

The California Invasion of Privacy Act ("CIPA") is an antiquated wiretapping statute that Plaintiffs' lawyers have been urging courts to apply to standard web analytics and advertising pixels. As the Doe court aptly observed, the CIPA "mess gets bigger and bigger as the world continues to change and as courts are called upon to apply CIPA's already-obtuse language to new technologies."

In Doe v. Eating Recovery Center LLC, Plaintiffs made the now-standard allegation that defendant violated CIPA by using the Meta pixel on its website. Not only did the Court grant summary judgment in defendant's favor; it implored the California Legislature to "bring CIPA into the modern age" and to "speak clearly" as to whether it applies to these sort of website tracking

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This post first appeared in Frankfurt Kurnit's Focus on the Data blog (www.focusonthedata.com). It provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

Originally published by the New York Legal Ethics Reporter

www.fkks.com

This alert provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

www.fkks.com

This alert provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

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