Legal Alert | Wiretap Laws in the United States
Anti-Wiretap Class Actions Against Website Operators Surge, but Proper Consent Can Reduce Risk
Webinar Recording – Assessing the Surge in Wiretap Litigation
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Rajaratnam Judge: Wiretaps in Insider Trading Cases are "Radical"
On October 24, 2024, in a long-awaited decision in Vita v. New England Baptist Hospital, Massachusetts’ highest court snuffed out an attempt to use the state’s 1968 Wiretap Act to impose liability on a hospital system for its...more
The Federal Trade Commission’s new rules banning phony online reviews are now in effect. These rules aim to curb false consumer testimonials, the buying of fake reviews from brokers, review suppression, falsifying social...more
If your business operates online and uses common marketing tools, your business is at risk of being targeted for lawsuits under pre-internet wiretapping and video rental privacy laws. It is critical to address and mitigate...more
Perhaps no use case better exemplifies the rapidly evolving privacy law landscape in the US than the legal framework surrounding companies’ use of cookies, pixels, and other web trackers. Gone are the days where marketing...more
Keypoint: Massachusetts’ highest court ruled the use of software that tracks users’ activity on its website does not violate the state’s Wiretap Act, which was intended to prevent the recording or interception of...more
In Vita v. New England Baptist Hosp., __ Mass __, __ N.E.3d __, 2024 WL 4558621 (Mass. Oct. 24, 2024), the court held that the Massachusetts wiretap statute does not criminalize interception of web browsing and sale of the...more
In a significant decision for website operators, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court clarified that tracking users’ web activity does not constitute illegal wiretapping under the state’s Wiretap Act. The court found that...more
Readers of this blog are aware of the surge in consumer privacy lawsuits alleging that the use of third-party tracking technology to collect consumer data while visiting a website constitutes illegal wiretapping. While most...more
In a closely watched decision, the highest court in Massachusetts has rejected the theory that third-party website tracking technology violates G. L. c. 272, § 99, the Massachusetts Wiretap Act....more
Businesses that use website tracking software to monitor activity for marketing purposes must comply with a growing list of state laws – but does that include a nearly 60-year-old Massachusetts law requiring consent to record...more
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (the “SJC”) has held that the state’s wiretap act does not prohibit the tracking of a person’s browsing of and interaction with published information on websites. On behalf of...more
Keypoint: California state courts weigh in on what does, and does not, qualify as a “pen registry” or “tap and trace” device while one California federal court raises whether a wiretapping claim can also allow for a CCPA...more
The surge in consumer privacy claims alleging that the use of third-party tracking technology on websites violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) is a topic with which our readers are very familiar. Now, the...more
Those tracking CIPA litigation are familiar with the recent decision holding in favor of a company whose site had an online chat operated by a vendor. The court in that case held (1) that the company had not violated the...more
Frequent readers of this blog are aware of the surge in lawsuits alleging that companies illegally wiretap consumers when they utilize software which tracks consumers’ interactions on their websites. The majority of these...more
Chatbots are likely to lead to a new wave of class action lawsuits. This is how are we helping our clients get ready. Claims include: •Contemporaneous recording by the chat provider - •Chat provider uses the chat...more
Keypoint: California district courts continue to split over whether “knowledge” is required to plead liability under Section 631(a)’s fourth prong while two decisions show courts taking different approaches to VPPA claims at...more
We continue to learn more about the courts’ perspective on claims under the California Information Privacy Act (“CIPA”). Last month, in Moody v. C2 Educational Systems Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Central District of...more
Repurposing old laws to challenge new technologies has become the new normal in the privacy space. Plaintiffs continue to bring a kaleidoscope of privacy claims against companies in the tech age, reviving laws like the...more
Keypoint: Courts have started to issue Pixel-based wiretapping decisions, the Seventh Circuit weighs in on when a manufacturer can be forced to pay arbitration fees, and three courts showed different approaches to dismissing...more
Readers of this blog may recall our prior piece about recent lawsuits alleging that the use of tracking software on certain websites violates the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”). While earlier lawsuits focused on...more
It has now become commonplace for Plaintiffs’ attorneys to bring claims alleging that routine marketing techniques, including the deployment of behavioral advertising cookies and pixels, constitute wiretaps in violation of...more
The Biden administration announced this week that it expects to release guidance in the future regarding the use of chatbots on company websites. As part of the “Time is Money” initiative to improve and streamline consumer...more
Like many organizations, Peloton is facing a legal challenge under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) relating to the company’s alleged use of third-party technology on its website to intercept chat communications...more
Companies frequently wish to record telephone conversations related to their operations, customers, or business transactions. In response, the U.S. Congress and most state legislatures have enacted statutes and regulations...more