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
Is Edward Snowden a Whistleblower?
Rajaratnam Judge: Wiretaps in Insider Trading Cases are "Radical"
Keypoint: In this post: (1) The Ninth Circuit holds essentially any website can be sued in California; (2) two courts limit pen registry claims; (3) courts split on whether privacy policies establish consent for wiretapping...more
In late March, an online retailer successfully asserted consent as a complete defense to a putative Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act of 1978 (WESCA) class action lawsuit, resulting in the...more
An oft-discussed topic on this blog is the rise in lawsuits asserting illegal wiretapping claims against companies that use technology on their websites to track consumer interactions. Recently, a Pennsylvania federal judge...more
Welcome to the “Telephone Consumer Protection Act” chapter of our annual report, Consumer Financial Services: 2024 Year in Review. Companies were mere hours away from implementing radical changes to lead forms and consent...more
Beware of demand letters from plaintiffs’ attorneys for allegations of illegal use of pen registers, trap and trace pixels, and search bar pixels—why? This “trap and trace” litigation is a growing trend for plaintiffs’...more
As the debate simmers about the proper application of the wiretapping provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), courts continue to weigh in on what technologies may constitute improper third-party...more
The first class action complaint was filed under Washington’s My Health My Data Act (“MHMDA”) on February 10, 2025, more than a year after the law’s passage. When the law passed in April 2023, MHMDA was novel for its broad...more
Welcome to the twentieth installment in our monthly data privacy litigation report. We prepare these reports to provide updates on how courts in the United States have handled emerging data privacy trends. After our expansive...more
Every week, the Array team reviews the latest news and analysis about the evolving field of eDiscovery to bring you the topics and trends you need to know. This week’s post covers the period of October 28-November 3. Here’s...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
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
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
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
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
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
Amid little clarity from courts, wiretap claims targeting the use of data analytics tools are becoming increasingly common. Here are ways to stay compliant and avoid costly litigation....more
California businesses are experiencing a tsunami of demands and complaints alleging class action status that applies the well-established 1960’s California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) to the internet’s new technology. CIPA...more
Keypoint: Courts continue to issue conflicting decisions in wiretapping cases while one court has expanded who may be considered a “video tape service provider” under the VPPA. Welcome to the eleventh installment in our...more
Real estate businesses frequently operate multiple websites. These may include corporate websites, websites for each of their properties, and websites for their apps and ancillary service offerings. To maximize the...more
The trend of class action cases alleging wiretap statute violations against website operators for the use of session replay software to collect information of website users, as our privacy team previously discussed here,...more
Here is what we can learn from class action lawsuits filed in the last few days under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, and other...more
Keypoint: The past two months have seen many courts dismiss privacy claims as judges appear to be more critical of plaintiffs’ theories while other judges have allowed cases to proceed past the motion to dismiss stage....more
Companies in all industries and of all sizes are evaluating sophisticated and useful technology for their websites and applica- tions (their “apps”) in an effort to enhance and develop their image or brand and to support...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