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Texas Attorney General Issues Warning on CIPA Website Tracking Demand Letters
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Brief points
- With the growing wave of letters alleging violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a letter urging businesses an...
- Paxton recommends any Texas business that received such a letter to: Consult with legal counsel experienced in privacy and website-tracking litigation before t...
- With the assistance of counsel, review their website’s use of pixels, cookies, analytics tools, and similar technologies.
With the growing wave of letters alleging violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued a letter urging businesses and nonprofit organizations to exercise caution and seek legal guidance before taking action.
Paxton recommends any Texas business that received such a letter to:
- Consult with legal counsel experienced in privacy and website-tracking litigation before taking action.
- With the assistance of counsel, review their website’s use of pixels, cookies, analytics tools, and similar technologies.
- Monitor evolving state and federal privacy laws and court decisions regarding website-tracking technologies.
Website compliance issues are not limited to California CIPA claims and may affect companies with no physical presence in California.
Under a new California law, SB 690, that recently passed the California legislature and was sent to Governor Newsom for signature, many website tracker-based causes of action under CIPA may be rendered moot. However, alternative causes of action persist and are increasingly being cited, alongside CIPA by pro se and law firm plaintiffs alike.
See here for a deeper dive.
Importantly, beyond the private right of action context, website compliance, including cookies and trackers may give rise to enforcement by State Attorneys General under both privacy and consumer protection laws.
In California, the CPPA has taken action against both Honda and Tractor Supply Company for website compliance violations.
The New York Attorney General has also provided guidance regarding expected enforcement of website compliance under the state’s consumer protection laws.
Regardless of how the CIPA litigation landscape develops, the broader message remains the same: website compliance is not going away, and websites that deploy invisible third-party trackers or use misleading cookie banners may still give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement under other legal theories.