Compliance Stuff

A new lawsuit just filed against an AI software provider offers a clear warning for any business using artificial intelligence to monitor or record customer service calls. On June 13, a California plaintiff filed a federal class action complaint alleging that Cresta Intelligence, a provider of real-time AI conversation tools, violated the state’s privacy law by capturing, analyzing, and storing her customer service call without her knowledge or consent . The lawsuit doesn't just target the  use  of call data but targets the vendor’s mere  capability  to use that data for its own purposes, such as training AI models or developing new product features. And this is not an isolated case . Similar wiretapping lawsuits have been filed against major brands and their tech vendors, and courts are increasingly letting these cases proceed past early dismissal stages. What do you need to do to protect your business, and what are the five steps you can take to minimize risk? Wha...

Businesses just received some good news when a federal court dismissed a California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) claim that aimed to expand the reach of the state’s wiretapping law to cover internet communications. The April 18 order is the very first ruling to decide, on the merits, whether CIPA could support litigation over the issue of third-party website cookies since CIPA litigation exploded over the last three years. Last week’s decision that granted summary judgment to the defendants keyed in on the fact that the third party’s accessing of internet communications did not occur while the data was “in transit,” but instead involved communications that had already taken place. The big questions we’re all asking now: How will this decision impact current CIPA litigation? Will we start to see the tide turn in businesses’ favor? And what can this decision teach you about risk mitigation of third-party technology you likely use on your website? What Happened? In  Torres v. Prude...

  As the privacy litigation landscape continues to take shape, search bars have quietly become a Trojan horse in online data collection, carrying new legal theories into the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) arena. The legal interpretation of what constitutes “contents” of a communication is evolving under CIPA, and this issue has taken on a greater significance for website owners and operators. So, if your business operates a website with a search bar, you should consider reassessing your website data collection and disclosure practices and implementing compliance measures. Otherwise, you may risk exposure to costly litigation. Here's what you need to know about recent developments in this area. How Did We Get Here? In  Heerde v. Learfield Communications ,   the court held that search terms entered into a search bar constitute “contents of a communication” for the purposes of a CIPA claim , and a third party’s interception of those search terms (through website...