By Michael S. Zullo and J. Colin Knisely
California has passed Senate Bill 690, a bill that would sharply limit private lawsuits over website tracking technology if signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The bill amends the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) to restrict private plaintiffs from suing under the pen-register and trap-and-trace provision, Penal Code Section 638.51, for covered online tracking claims. If enacted, only the California attorney general would be authorized to bring those covered claims. This is a significant development for companies facing pixel- and tracking-technology class actions, but it is not a complete solution to CIPA tracking litigation.