From Search to Share: Court Holds Third-Party Interception of Search Bar Terms Can Support CIPA Claim
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...