Legal Alert | Wiretap Laws in the United States
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In a critical new decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has confirmed that the state’s anti-wiretapping statute does not extend to website tracking technologies. In Vita v. New England Baptist Hospital, the Court...more
In a long-awaited decision affecting the scope of privacy protections in Massachusetts, on October 24, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) held that collecting and transmitting user browsing activities,...more
October has offered valuable insights for companies managing privacy obligations related to user tracking, with courts issuing opinions on various wiretap laws and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) in the context of...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
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
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
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
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
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
A Pennsylvania federal court recently granted a retailer’s motion to dismiss claims that its use of “spy pixels” in its commercial e-mail constitutes illegal wiretapping. In Hartley v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., No....more
In 2023, we discussed the uptick in data privacy and cybersecurity class action lawsuits; as expected, this trend has persisted throughout 2024 as plaintiffs continue to test new theories of liability and the boundaries of...more
Readers of this blog likely know about the wave of consumer privacy litigation directed at online companies’ collection of consumer data. A litany of these cases are brought by Swigart Law Group, APC (“Swigart Law”), a law...more
Keypoint: The Central District of California issued several wiretapping decisions in May while two decisions on the VPPA illustrate how claims fail or succeed at the pleading stage. Welcome to the fourteenth installment in...more
As an onslaught of recent class actions allege, companies may be liable for eavesdropping and wiretapping based on the use of common analytics software on their platforms. For instance, in California, plaintiffs have filed...more
Keypoint: Two California state court decisions have addressed motions to dismiss claims under the novel “pen registry” and “tap and trace” theories, but reached different outcomes after finding different policy considerations...more
Keypoint: Multiple decisions from the same judicial district come down differently on wiretapping claims while three courts in different states each reject VPPA-defendants’ arguments that the plaintiffs lacked Article III...more
Anyone following trends in consumer class action litigation will know that consumer privacy was a primary focus of the plaintiff’s bar in 2023. And there are no signs this uptick in consumer privacy claims is slowing any time...more
Keypoint: Courts resolved six motions to dismiss wiretapping claims based on session replay technology in January, while two VPPA decisions highlight balance struck by courts. A new privacy litigation theory based on “pen...more
Numerous new website technologies and tools allow companies to more effectively interact with their customers. These include chatbots, session recording software, tracking pixels (snippets of code that can be used to identify...more
What You Need To Know In A Minute Or Less - The rise in session replay litigation has paved the way for a new wave of website privacy lawsuits: pixel tool litigation. Plaintiffs have increasingly challenged the use of this...more
The biggest data privacy litigation risk companies currently face is class action litigation based on the use of certain website advertising technology (adtech). Are you wondering what this means for your company? This alert...more
What You Need to Know in a Minute or Less - For most businesses today, a website is a necessary tool for interacting with customers and marketing products and services. Businesses know the importance of understanding how...more
After the downing of the Chinese spy balloon by U.S. Forces in early February 2023, several additional objects have been identified over U.S. and Canadian airspace. While officials have denied that these were additional spy...more
Kilpatrick Townsend’s John Brigagliano recently participated in the “US State Privacy Law” panel at the 37th Annual Privacy & Technology Law Forum. Mr. Brigagliano moderated the discussion with Jason Loring (Vialto Global...more