CIPA Defense
We defend lawsuits under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”), at California Penal Code Section 630, et seq. These cases involve alleged wiretapping, eavesdropping, and so-called "trap and trace" allegations, often based on a defendant's use of a third-party marketing pixels, cookies, or web beacons.
We have litigated or arbitrated a multitude of CIPA cases on behalf of defendants.
CIPA is a 50+ year old law, passed in 1967, meant to criminalize eavesdropping on telephone calls. On the topic of internet privacy, California has been active recently in passing the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") and California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA"). However, individual consumers do not have a right to sue under the CCPA or CPRA. This led plaintiff's attorneys to repurpose the decades old CIPA law to address privacy violations considering the rampant use of marketing pixels and cookies that pass private information of website users to companies such as Meta (i.e. Facebook).
CIPA is a powerful statute for plaintiffs because it provides for statutory damages of $5,000 per violation, which can create massive financial risks for defendants.
The lawsuits and arbitration complaints focus on a few main arguments. Specifically, plaintiffs argue that website tracking technologies are analogized to unlawful "pen registers" or "trap-and-trace" devices. Specifically, technologies used on websites, like cookies or tracking pixels, capture information, like IP addresses, when users visit the site. That information can be sent to third parties, like Facebook, TikTok, and Google. Plaintiffs argue that this collection and sending of information without consent to third parties is similar to the use of a pen register or trap-and-trace device, and which would be a violation of CIPA.
While some courts have been skeptical about the merits of these arguments by plaintiffs, other courts have refused to quickly dismiss cases. As these cases work their way through state and federal courts, there are strong arguments that defendants can assert at any stage.
Our firm vigorously defends CIPA claims on behalf of our defendant clients, in both courts and in arbitration. If you have been named in a lawsuit or arbitration alleging CIPA violations, or if you have received a demand letter alleging CIPA violations, we would be happy to discuss how we could help. Contact us today using our online submission form.
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