Signal California Enacts SB 690 to Curb Surge in Website-Tracking Wiretap Lawsuits

Summary

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 690 on September 30, 2026, a law set to take effect January 1, 2027 that limits private lawsuits under the California Invasion of Privacy Act's (CIPA) 'pen register' provision. Originally enacted in 1967 to target illegal telephone wiretapping, the provision had increasingly been applied to website and app analytics and pixel-tracking technology, driving a surge in related lawsuits from roughly 600 to nearly 4,000. Under SB 690, private individuals will no longer be able to sue under pen-register claims; only the state Attorney General will retain authority to bring such claims. The law includes a retroactive provision allowing defendants to seek dismissal of pen-register claims in lawsuits filed within the two years before the January 1, 2027 effective date. Companies operating websites and using pixel-tracking technologies are expected to be the law's primary beneficiaries.